Scarlet Nova: A Burning Legacy
by Death Obelisk
Summary: Scarlet Nova, a guild that has existed since ancient times and is said to rival Fairy Tail in both strength and members. Follow Glaive Heathcliff, 4th Generation Master, as he leads his guild to new heights and glory amidst the challenges laid before him and his family. An SYOC story. OC submissions and reservations are now closed
1. Prologue

**January 1** **st** **X754, 3pm**

"Well, well, well. This is quite a surprise," A young man in his late twenties muttered under his breath. "I wasn't expecting this place to be so huge. I thought you said you were in debt or something. How the heck do you even keep this place running?" Said male stood at 6'5, slightly taller than the other male he was addressing. He had a well-toned body from years of physical training and combat practice. His skin however was a deadly pale shade of white, something that he himself did not understand why. He had an angular face with silver mid-waist hair and a short untrimmed beard. His eyes were gold and piercing, able to fixate someone with fear should they stare too long into them. He donned a black exorcist's cloak that had a golden ornaments and fashioning along the sides. On the right side of his chest was the image of a silver flaming skull, a fitting image if anyone knew the type of magic he employed. This was accompanied by a set of white baddy trousers that were slotted into a pair of black steel toed boots. His wore a single black glove on his right hand that had ethereal chains coiled around it to act as a limiter for his magic. He had only been away from a year or so but it seemed to him that the guild house had undergone a massive overhaul.

"Well Glaive, I am in debt. Just keeping this place running is taking all connections I have." The other male in question wheezed a reply. He stood at just 6'0 even though that was assuming he stood up straight. Currently he was hunched, his arms shaking ever so slightly as he leaned against an oaken wood cane. The wrinkles on his face and skin were evident, indicating old age but yet he still managed to maintain a slightly angular face which often made passersby's look twice in confusion. His white hair was currently combed back slickly and his eyes still shone a mystic blue in the bright sunlight. He was currently wearing a simple monk's robe that was green and decorated with tribal flowers and stripes, accompanied by a set of baggy white trousers that were being held up by a brown belt. To most at first glance, he seemed like a nice elderly man that was always wearing a grin on his face. To those that knew him, he was one of the most powerful guild masters in the country. Rayleigh Heathcliff, the 3rd Master of Scarlet Nova, a guild that rivaled even Fairy Tail in both members and strength.

Scarlet Nova was founded in X680, being only slightly younger than Fairy Tail itself. Between the two, Scarlet Nova was the less popular one, having been founded in a region most would consider inaccessible or taboo to enter. It was currently located at the border that separated Fiore from Bosco, in the small town of Valgore. Valgore was nearly a ghost town, sporting only a few merchants that sold daily necessities to the few residents that lived there. Occasionally there were the few slaves or barbarians that crossed the border between the two, wreaking havoc as they passed through the small town, making it all the more a deterrent for anyone to even visit the place. It was only until the invention of the Grand Magic Games in X700 did things start to look better for Valgore and Scarlet Nova. Scarlet Nova's victory at the games started to draw attention to them, being an unknown guild that existed in an unknown location. That was when mages from all walks of life started to join, impressed by the skills and capabilities that the first generation sported. Trade finally began to pick up and missions started to flood into the guild. This change was further amplified when the 2nd generation Master decided to introduce a ranking system to the guild in order to discourage foolishness and ensure quality of the jobs done. All mages were assigned a rank based on mission success rates, limiting them to only taking missions that were the same as their rank and fair distribution of guild resources.

Thanks to this, Valgore's trade boomed exponentially. The town had become a hotspot for most travellers because of the nature of it trade. While most towns traded in goods and fishery, this town specialized in the sale of magic items. Most aspiring mages usually gathered in this town to discuss various forms of magic as well as to buy magical items to get started on their journey as a mage. As such there was almost never a time that Valgore wasn't bustling even with the constant threat of stowaways from Bosco.

Scarlet Nova possessed a total of 4 different ranks, the lowest being C class. Upon entry to the guild, each new member will undergo an initiation test that is conducted by either a Magic Power Finder, MPF for short, or by an S-class mage. Based on the results, the mage will be slotted into a rank. A majority of the guild's mages all consisted of B and C class mages. After acquiring decent experience and a number of successful missions, a mage would be promoted to A-class, regardless whether they started out B or C. The A-class was largely reserved for the highly skilled members of the guild, consisting of no more than 25% of the guild's members. Even higher would be the S-Class, whereby only a handful of mages make the cut for. Reaching S-class is by no means an easy feat. On top of being the best 4 A-Class mages in that year's cohort, they also had to have the recommendation of at least 1 S-class mage in order to qualify to take the examination in the first place.

"Alright old man spill the beans," Glaive grunted. "Why the hell did you drag my ass back from a mission? I'd appreciate it if you didn't interfere with my work life." Glaive Heathcliff could be described to have an estranged relationship with his father. As the son of Scarlet Nova's Master, he was exempted from all forms of special treatment. He hardly saw his father and even when he did, he was not acknowledged and simply given the cold shoulder. Despite being a powerful mage in his own right, Glaive was constantly at the shorter end of the stick. Having been an A ranked mage for the past 6 years, he had watched as his entire cohort graduated and went on to becoming S-class. It wasn't as though he was hated in the guild either, having received support from the S-class each year but not even getting so close to seeing the examination. That was when he drew his own conclusion that his Father was behind it all, straining the relationship between the duo even further.

So imagine his surprise when his father contacted him out of the blue, demanding that he returned to the guild immediately.

"Glaive," Rayleigh wheezed as he shakily sat down on a chair. He took in a deep breath, his eyes filled with conviction as he locked gazes with Glaive. "You are officially now the new guild master of Scarlet Nova."

That instant, silence descended between the two, courtesy of Glaive's look of disbelief and jaw hanging in midair.

"Wait, what? What are you spouting old man?" Glaive snapped when the words finally rang home. "Why the hell am I the new guild master?"

"Glaive, I'm old. It's time for a new Master to take over. I no longer have the strength to lead the guild." Rayleigh started, only for Glaive to cut in once more.

"Yeah so?" he scowled. "Why me? Shouldn't it be one of the S-classes that take over. I'm just an A-ranked mage!"

"All S-class have given their approval to my decision," Rayleigh added, causing Glaive to appear even more gobsmacked. "Besides, you were A-ranked for a reason."

"What the hell do you mean?"

"You are strong Glaive, there's no doubting that." Rayleigh explained. "But what you lack is compassion and understanding. If we were to allow you to climb even further up the ranks, we only feared that you would isolate yourself from the guild even further. Keeping you as A-ranked allow you to keep in touch with the lower classes, understanding their needs and learning how to accommodate with them. "

Glaive fell silent at this point, his father's words resonating with his heart. Everything his father said was true. He once lacked passion and love for others, his arrogance and pride being the centre of his existence. His father was right in that sense. If he had continued down this path, who knew what would have happened. Yes, he could become S-class and have fame and fortune. But at the end of it, no one would respect him and no one would befriend him.

"Why didn't you just tell me," Glaive uttered silently.

"What help would it do? This is not something that can be taught Glaive, but must be learnt through one's own actions instead."

"Was it worth it though?" Glaive half yelled, a trickle of tears flowing freely as he tried to rein in his own emotions. "You made me resent you! Hate you! You made me tear our relationship to shreds! Don't you hate me for this?"

"No parent would resent their child Glaive," Rayleigh smiled warmly as he placed a hand on his shoulder. "Nothing warms my heart even more than seeing you enter the right path."

With that Glaive raised his head to look at his father once more. Gone was the innate hatred that he once withheld for the frail old man, replaced with understanding instead of the heart wrenching effort placed in nurturing the next generation.

"Well then," Rayleigh smiled as he unsheathed the chrome blade that he withheld within the wooden cane. "It's time." It was slightly rusted at the edges but the silver runes which it was decorated in still glowed brightly. It was not a weapon but rather a ritualistic ornament, only to be used in occasions like this. He then proceeded to tap Glaive once on each shoulder, the runes flashing brightly as he did so.

"I, Rayleigh Heathcliff, hereby declare that the next Master of Scarlet Nova is Glaive Heathcliff. In accordance to the will of my predecessors, all authority I once held is now relinquished and passed on to the next generation. May the stars light your path and your heart pave the future of tomorrow."

Upon finishing, Rayleigh sheathed the blade, holding out to Glaive who received it with both arms.

"Lead this guild to glory Glaive. I believe in you."

 **January 1** **st** **X794**

"Master? Master?" came a voice that called out from behind the wooden doors. Glaive Heathcliff instantly opened his eyes, sitting upright instantly in his chair.

"Yes, what is it?" he called out.

"The newest batch of recruits has returned. Their particulars are currently with me." The voice replied. "Do you wish to go over them now?"

"Just leave them outside. I'll take a look later."

With that, there was the shuffling of papers and the rhythmic sound of footsteps disappearing, leaving Glaive alone once more in his office.

"40 years really is a long time," Glaive muttered as he still recalled the events that had occurred this day. By his side still lay the wooden cane that his Father had sired him with upon becoming guild master. Looks wise, Glaive hardly seemed to have changed save for the few wrinkles that appeared on his face and arms. His body was still as fit as those decades ago, a habit he had nurtured to keep himself in shape.

Thoughtlessly, he turned his head around and glanced out of the window, giving him a bird's eye view of the entire guild.

Scarlet Nova was based in a 30 storey high clock tower that sported an enormous Italian styled Villa in front of it. The first building was C shaped and faced the entrance of the guild. Large wooden doors served as the gates to the first building. Upon entry, one would be greeted with the sight of an open courtyard, surrounded by the buildings left and right wings which served as the dorms for members of the guild. This was the place whereby most mages would practice their magic given the open space and all. The dorms were also made of cobblestone, equipped with wooden stairs and amber colored light that shone brightly in the dark.

The second building was located further beyond the courtyard, connected by a walkway which spans from the center building of the dorms. The main guild building had a cozier interior that was lined with cobblestone and carpeted floors. The guild hall was naturally bright, having a ceiling made of reinforced glass lacrima though there were chandeliers of light lacrima hanging around when it got dark. It comprised of three floors though the third floor was out of bounds for all members except for the guild master and his family.

The first floor mainly served as pub for the members to drink and relax in, having been equipped with a bar and various tables and benches. To the far right of the guild hall was the request board that was framed in wood and covered in requests from various clients. Apart from the bar, there were two other smaller shops. One of them was a magic shop which specialized in the sale of magical items such as trinkets and lacrima. The second was an enhancement shop for mages to repair or upgrade their equipment. Both shops generated revenue from not only members but from travellers as well due to them being well known for quality and service in town.

Behind the bar was a lift that gave members access to the clock tower. For most mages, they only had access to the first 20 floors which consisted of archives, libraries and laboratories. The next 5 floors were more of large enclosed spaces that served as battle simulators. Mages who wished to used this had to be accompanied by at least an A-class mage at all times. The remaining 5 floors were strictly restricted for the S-Classes and Glaive. These floors contain classified information and magic artefacts that were highly volatile or dangerous, limiting their usage to only the best of the best. Glaive's office was located at the top floor along with the general meeting room which he usually held his monthly meeting with the S-class.

While the guild house was sure as hell impressive, beyond it lay another structure that was equally as awesome and recently constructed. Due to Scarlet Nova's weird location of being place at the border of Bosco, Glaive had decided to extend a portion out of the clock tower to line along the border. While it did look out of place compared to the guild house, it served a purpose that no one could argue about.

The Aegis Project, a Glaive had coined it, acted as a barrier to any invaders from Bosco. Security of Valgore was one of the main issues of concern that Glaive immediately tackled when he took over. Playing on the unique location of the guild house, the wall not only served as a natural deterrent but also a watch point for the guild's mages. Any fool wishing to enter Fiore illegally would be denied and anyone foolish enough to attack it would be akin to declaring war on Scarlet Nova. There existed a single entrance though, guarded 24/7 by mages that patrolled the top of the wall. The gates only opened during the day, thus minimising chances of any incidences of invasion.

"Don't worry Father," Glaive thought to himself as he returned to his musings. "I promise to live up to your legacy. Your efforts in protecting and nurturing this family will not go to waste. I will definitely keep Valgore and Scarlet Nova safe."

 **A/N:** _And voila! Here's the prologue to the new Scarlet Nova! Hope you guys have enjoyed it! The OC form will be located at the end of this page as well as on my profile along with the number of characters I am willing to take for each class. Reservations for characters will be officially open for new writers in two days as priority goes to previous contributors to the story. Also, I will be introducing a new type of weapon artefact that can be found in the story, descriptions located below. Please do follow the form strictly and as usual all pairings will be straight. This story will only officially commence in December so you guys have about 1-2 months to model and shape your OCs. So please show some love people and continue supporting this story like before_

 _Death Obelisk out_

 **OC Form**

 **Name: (First and Last Name)**

 **Age: (Preferably between 12-35)**

 **Gender: (Male or Female. Sorry but I'm gonna have limit sexuality to being straight cause I'm not very good at writing Yaoi or Yuri stuff)**

 **Personality: (How do they treat others aka friends, enemies and guild members)**

 **Appearance: (Hair colors, skin color, build, height or anything prominent about them such as scars or beauty attire your character wears for normal, sleeping and swimming at minimum. Be as descriptive as possible)**

 **How Much Can I Harm Your Character: (You MUST answer this by erasing the types of harm that you DON'T want done to your character. You can also include specifics, like if you don't want leg-loss or facial scars. )**

 **-Medium Emotional Harm (Emotional things that heal within a month and won't leave them out of commission long at all. Unrequited love, short-term break ups/relationship issues, people being really mean, death of people they aren't as close to.)**

 **-Harsh Emotional Harm (Emotional harm that may leave them out of commission for a couple of months. Long-term break-ups/relationship issues, death of close friends, witnessing some traumatic events. They may change a bit mentally, but overall, they will be the same character.)**

 **-Retiring Emotional Harm (Emotional harm that makes them quit going on missions. Extremely traumatic experiences, maybe around their fears or loss of the people they care the most about. They may go through some big mental changes, like becoming quiet, colder or luney.)**

 **-Medium Physical Harm (Physical harm that will heal within a month. Some scarring may occur, but they will remain intact.)**

 **-Harsh Physical Harm (Physical harm that could incapacitate them for a few months. Maybe the loss of a limb or organ or some bad scarring. May change them just a bit as a person, but they would be able to go on missions and still be relatively the same.)**

 **-Retiring Physical Harm (Physical harm that leads to them not going on missions again, but leaves them alive. Maybe severe damage to organs/limbs or them being crippled. They could change a lot as a person, too.)**

 **Guild mark location: (Where and what color is their guild mark.)**

 **Magic: (No restrictions of what type of magic mainly but if I receive too many mages of the same magic type, I will only take the first two I receive. Also, I am limiting the number of slayers I'm taking. No Demon slayers please and if they are God slayers, please explain how they got their powers. Try not to have more than one type of magic. If you want a secondary magic, provide an explanation how they got it. If it's good, I will accept it. Your character does not need to use magic but can use magical items instead)**

 **Equipment: (What type of equipment your character will use. They can be without this as certain magics involve more of bare fist fighting)**

 **S-Class: (Whether you want your character to be S-class or not. If you think they should be S-class, provide an explanation why they should deserve it.)**

 **History: (Pasts with canonical characters are accepted provided they are believable. Take note that the story starts after the 7 year time skip)**

 **Strengths: (What makes them excel in combat)**

 **Weaknesses: (What may cause them to falter or fall)**

 **Type of person they would fall for: (No relationships with canonical characters please. Be descriptive about what they would like about their other half)**

 **Hobbies: (What do they do in their free time or something they are good at)**

 **Stats:**

 **Attack Power: ?/5**

 **Defense power: ?/5**

 **Intelligence: ?/5**

 **Speed: ?/5**

 **(This follows the GMG stats sheet. You can't have like all 4s and 5s though because your character would be overwhelmingly powerful and I will reject it)**

 **Mission Types: (What missions they would be inclined to take. Will they rather take it alone or in a team?)**

 **Living conditions: (Where do they stay? Do they stay in the dorms or do they have a house somewhere else? Do they stay with any other guild members?)**

 **Special Category: Dragscale Weapons**

 **Dragscale items are weapons made by forging them out of a dragon's blood, scales and bones. Due to their immense amount of magic required to forge them and difficulty in capturing and killing dragons, there are only seven in the entire world. A Dragscale item can only have one wielder and when not in use, will take the form of a tattoo on the user's body.** **Each Dragscale item has its own elemental power, depending on the Dragon that was slain to make it. If you do choose a Dragscale weapon, your OC is not allowed to have another magic unless it is significantly weaker or corresponds to the element of the weapon (eg: Your OC cannot possess slayer magic and have a Dragscale weapon at the same time)**

 **Weapon type and Name:**

 **Element:**

 **Spells:**

 **Tattoo design and location:**


	2. Intro Arc 1

**January 1** **st** **X794, Valgore's Market Place**

"Thanks for letting me tag along!" a young boy chirped happily. He was wearing an orange sleeveless shirt with black stars imprinted on it as well as a pair of yellow fingerless gloves and an orange pointed hat on top of his out-of-place hair. Going along with the outfit was a pair of long, puffy white Arabian pants that reached to the tops of his ankles. The boy's hair was spiky blonde while his skin was very pale. Uniquely, his right eye was emerald green while his left eye was ruby red, a partial side effect of his magic. He had an underactive build and was very short compared to his two companions, standing only at an embarrassing 4'8. However what he lacked in height was easily compensated in spirit, visible from the bright and adorable smile on his face.

"Not a problem! The more the merrier!" his female companion called back from the front of the caravan, a bright smile on her face as well. This female mage had a healthy thin built with a modest sized bust. She had dark brown straight hair that went well with her pale skin tone, going down to her second ribs. This mage was by no means tall, standing at 5'3. Like her companion, her almond shaped dark brown eyes also sparkled with excitement. She was currently dressed in a dark forest green sweater with a long neck, blue jeans, white socks and brown shoes. Her hair was held back with black hair band with embroidery flowers on it.

"By the way Vento? Why did you want to choose a mission like this? Aren't there easier missions for someone your size?" a voice purred from the female mage, though the owner of it was a ruddy Abyssinian that was curled up on her lap. The feline had a single golden eye, the other blinded due to an accident earlier in his life. Around his neck was golden collar that had a tag with the guild's symbol attached to it.

"Aengus," the female mage chided. "Don't be rude!"

"What Chantal? I was just stating the obvious." The cat shrugged. "I mean I'm pretty sure there are missions that don't involve driving magic vehicles."

"It's alright Chantal," Vento giggled. "The truth is I'm kind of out of jewels already, binge eating and all. So I decided to find a mission that paid especially well but as you know C class missions hardly earn much. So I kinda…"

"Piggybacked off our mission eh," Aengus finished for him, causing the mage to rub his head sheepishly.

"Well that's the long and short of things," Vento chuckled, laughing nervously in an attempt to dispel the awkwardness.

"I don't really mind though," Chantal replied. "Its kind off nice to meet up with new guild members. Besides, I believe that this mission pays more than enough for the two of us."

Like Vento, Chantal had just joined the guild about a year ago under the recommendation of her mother. It really caught her off guard though, seeing how large and bustling the guild was. There were close to a 150 members and she could hardly even remember a handful of them. Most guild members spent their time in the clock tower if not travelling to and fro from the guild, hence minimising most interactions with one another. As a result, Chantal and Aengus had spent their first year in Scarlet Nova doing missions alone. So imagine her surprise and excitement when another member actually bothered to introduce himself and asked to go on a mission with them.

"It's always good to make new friends," Chantal added, Vento nodding his head in agreement. "We all need someone to rely on and talk with in the guild."

"Agreed!" Vento cheered.

The trio's mission was actually quite simple. Deliver a dozen crates of Blue Gum fruits from the harbour to the market district before noon. For a job that payed 12500J, it was relatively much easier than some of the other missions that Chantal and Aengus had taken on previously. The only thing required was a licence for magic wheelers.

If only they had read the fine print on the request.

"Chantal, don't you think we are going faster?" Aengus quipped as he stared on the accelerometer.

"Yeah we are," Chantal replied in surprise. She was pretty sure she was stepping on the gas constantly and yet the numbers before her eyes indicated that they were going faster.

"Everything ok back there Vento?"

"Yup, all seems fine back here!" the boy called back, though his voice seemed slurred slightly.

"The vehicle's probably busted," Aengus meowed, "We should report this to Master Glaive when we get back." Chantal nodded in agreement.

Within a few minutes, the trio arrived at the designated shop. The owner of the shop was an elderly lady that was currently waiting outside in anticipation.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Chantal smiled as she left the driver's seat.

"Its fine, its fine my dearies," the elderly lady smiled. "Scarlet Nova has always been reliable so I don't mind waiting a bit."

"Vento, come on out and greet the client," Aengus called to the back of the magic wheeler. When Vento did not reply, Aengus decided to check on him, crawling into the back where the goods lay.

That was when an ear-piercing screech could be heard.

"Aengus!? What's wrong!?" Chantal yelled in horror as she recognised her companion's voice, rushing to the back of the magic wheeler as well.

"Take a look?" Aengus replied, his eyes glued onto the scene that lay before him. When Chantal arrived, she immediately understood what caused the shriek. Very soon, she was trying very hard to maintain her giggles like her feline companion.

In the back was Vento, though one could hardly say he looked the same. His entire body was inflated into a large blue ball, his clothes on the verge of exploding already. Beside him lay the open crates of Blue Gum Fruits, its effects for all to see.

"Hehe whoops," Vento wheezed as he tried to wipe the last of the juice on his cheek with his tongue. "They just tasted so good so I couldn't help myself."

"Oh my," the elderly store owner exclaimed. "Looks like your friend here ate one too many of the fruit. The fruit's fibre expands exponentially when exposed to acid, making it dangerous to eat more than half a dozen at once."

"We are very sorry about this," Chantal and Aengus bowed their heads in shame, desperately trying to put Vento's ridiculous figure out of their minds at the moment.

"Oh it's fine," the elderly owner smiled. "It just happens that I ordered more than the amount I needed."

"What about Vento? Is he going to be alright?" Chantal enquired. While it was a sight to behold, she was still a tad concerned about her guild mate's safety.

"Well, give him a few hours for the fruit remnants to dissolve and he should be just fine. Though I hardly recommend eating anything at this point." The elderly owner laughed under her breath.

"Since we have no choice but to wait, why not make the best of the situation?" Aengus suggested. "I know a spot in town whereby there's a steep hill. We could line a few crates at the bottom of it and…"

"Aengus!" Chantal chided when she caught on with the idea, while the cat simply shrugged his shoulders once more. "Well it was worth a shot."

That caused a laugh amongst the rest, Vento included.

Oh well, that was probably the price he had to pay for his gluttony. Not that he regretted it one bit at all.

 **Clock Tower, Floor 21**

The training floors, or Perfect Cube as the Combat division calls it, was essentially a high tech arena. The entire area, save for the lift lobby, was coated in a special chrome lacrima coating that was said to be unscratchable by the Research department. At the far right end of the floor was a transparent lacrima box lined with tiered seats. It served as the viewpoint for anyone watching the spars, a safe distance away from the action. Like the training floor, the lacrima box was also coated in a similar material, lest any stray attacks flew out of control and hit the unsuspecting audience. The screen at the front of the box also served as an Archive panel, allowing the terrain within the room to be changed at will.

The field today though was currently empty and in the middle of it stood two mages, both with big grins written on their faces. In the stands, there was a pair of Exceeds, which was quite fitting for the scenario, given that both participants today were slayers. Just except that both Exceeds were cheering on for only one of them.

"GO TSUKI GO! KICK HIS ASS!" the first Exceed, known as Sora, cheered, waving a pair of flags and wearing a headband that had the word victory in Kanji written on it. Sora had orange coloured fur and a white belly that was currently obscure by an orange hoodie with cat ears. His orange eyes were blazing with determination and confidence that his partner would definitely emerge victorious today.

"Shiro believes Tsuki will win too…" the second exceed known as Shiro, mumbled timidly. Like her brother, she also wore an orange hoodie that had cat ears and bright orange eyes.

"Looks like your fan club are all assembled and raring to go," the second slayer grinned. This slayer was ripped and intimidating, standing at 6'7 with 420lbs of bulging muscles. He had short blood red spiky hair and crimson red eyes. Along the right side of his face, a long diagonal scar ran from his forehead to his jaw. He slightly tanned frame was bring covered in a white top that went well with his army styled jacket. He also wore beige combat pants and a pair of black combat boots. "Hope you won't disappoint me today!"

"Not a chance Zion! Today's the day I'm gonna put an end to my losing streak!" Tsuki replied back, bouncing about on her feet as she warmed up. Tsuki had a slight hourglass figure and stood at 5'2 with ivory skin. Her heart shaped face was currently carved into a grin, making her high cheekbones with pouty rose pink lips stand out even more. Her lush long hair fell to her ribs, a ribbon on each side holding up her braids. Her brown eyes sparkled with excitement at the prospect of challenging and beating an S-class. She was wearing a white long sleeved button up under a gray almost black vest, a matching gray skirt, white knee high socks and black shoes with a red tie.

"I don't quite get it though," Zion chuckled lowly as he cracked his neck and flexed his joints. "Aren't you under Vitra, so why are you always asking to train with me?" While they were both S-class and belonged to the Combat Division, both Vitra and he were in charge of monitoring different members of the combat division. Yet Tsuki always seemed to find him for spars instead, despite her mentor being Vitra.

"Well, I guess it probably cause we are about the same age," Tsuki giggled. "Makes it a lot easier to speak with you. Besides, since our elements seem to overlap, I figured I would have a higher chance of reaching A rank."

"Haha, underestimating me are you?" Zion smirked, though he could understand where she was coming from. Though it wasn't conventional, there was an alternative way to ranking up more quickly in Scarlet Nova. Beating an S-class mage in a 1 on 1 fight seemed so easy but yet again reality checks are painful. The sheer impossibility of it was what cleared this as an unofficial test, though it only applied to B and C ranks. For as long as Zion could remember, there was only 1 other mage that came close to beating an S-class, on his entrance test to top that off. The sheer potential of that member immediately received approval for his transfer to A rank despite the lost.

"Well, I guess its time to let our fists do the talking instead." Zion laughed lowly. He then proceeded to flex his muscles, causing both his jacket and shirt to rip into shred, revealing his well defined and toned body. "You may have the first move."

"Don't regret this," Tsuki cheered as her body began to glow with a bright orange aura. Her eyes then narrowed with determination as she shot forward, her arms coated with flames and light.

"Solar Dragon's Devouring Fang!' she shouted as the flames and light blended to form a fang, swiping horizontally across Zion's chest. Zion just stood perfectly still, waiting as the attack was only inches from his chest before he moved. At the last second, Zion sidestepped, causing Tsuki to stumble forward in surprise. Immediately, he delivered a swift chop to her neck, causing the dragon slayer to cough in surprise as she collapsed to the floor.

"Magma God's Hatred!" Zion yelled as his fist became coated in black magma, bringing it down on where Tsuki was. Tsuki instinctively reacted though, doing a narrow flip which barely avoided the strike, causing it to plummet into the ground instead.

"Solar Dragon's Drones!" she commanded as balls of light and flame lit up around her. As she leapt back, she flicked her fingers from side to side, commanding the balls to fire off streaks of solidified heat energy.

"Oh not this again!" Zion groaned as he recognised the spell. While the attacks didn't really faze him, they were annoying hard to hit. The pesky little things seemed to come from all angles, making it difficult to eliminate them individually. "Eat this, Magma God's Eruption!" he then punched both his fist straight into the ground, causing streams of black magma to erupt simultaneously all around him. Before the drones could even get close, the columns of magma instantly incinerated them.

However on the downside, that left Zion temporarily blinded. Tsuki instantly took advantage of this, and charged headfirst into the magma. Once again, magic coated her fist and forearms, blazing to life in a brilliant mix of flames and light. "Solar Dragon's Firing Hammer!" she called out, swinging a roundhouse punch at Zion through the magma. Unfortunately, her cry alerted Zion to her position. The instant her arm came into view, Zion grabbed it, causing her to yelp in surprise. Tossing her into the air slightly, Zion changed his grip to her waist and did a back suplex, smashing Tsuki headfirst into the ground, causing the lacrima coating to shatter. As if to add insult to injury, he then grabbed her leg, hurling her across the room.

The small girl winced in pain as she skidded across the floor. Her clothes were currently in tatters from where Zion's magma had hit. She grimaced. "You still hit really hard Zion. Ever heard of restraint?"

"Told ya you should have gone to practice with Vitra instead. Unlike him, I don't hold back." Zion stated. He began to walk over to her, extending a hand out to help her up. "Yield?"

"Well, I guess that's it for today," Tsuki shrugged, taking Zion's hand. Despite the exchange lasting less than 10 minutes, she was already sore and exhausted. Shows just how much further she has to go, but that wasn't going to stop her from trying.

All of a sudden, the duo felt the ground tremble slightly.

"Earthquake?" Tsuki enquired.

"Don't think so?" Zion shrugged. The tremors were not rhythmic and felt more like something was cracking instead. It was as though…

"Oh shit," he whispered silently when he connected the dots.

'Err guys," Sora muttered. "The floor is cracking."

Both pairs of eyes traced towards where the lacrima plating had shattered. Sure enough, the concrete tile beneath it was cracking, pieces of rubble already falling to the floor below.

"Master Glaive is gonna have my head for this," Zion sighed mentally, his last thoughts before the floor tile crumbled beneath his and Tsuki's feet, dropping them into the floor below.

 **Clock Tower, Floor 20**

"Okay easy does it," a mage muttered to himself as he watched through a pair of magnifying lens, carefully placing a detonation charge into a lacrima. Only when the lacrima sealed itself up did the mage heave a sigh of relief.

"Phew, another successful transplant." The mage commented. This mage went by the name of Blitz and belonged to the Research Department. He was a raven haired man with piercing dark crimson eyes that complimented his sharp looking features. He had a clean- shaven face and sported a height of 5'8. He wore a deep black cloak with sharp white fringes around his shoulder with a unbuttoned black dress shirt underneath. Beneath that were casual looking jeans slightly tweaked to allow freer range of leg movement while a slick belt which bore many small knifes and needles hanging off them, it also held up his pants. To finish it all off he happened to be wearing a fedora on his head with the outfit ending with steel tipped jet-black combat boots.

Scattered all around him were various test tubes that held boiling liquids and slates of lacrima plates. Despite the vast array of equipment, he was the only person using the laboratory, indicating that all research currently going on was being done by him. It wasn't that the Research Department was lacking in manpower, it was just that most members would prefer to work a few floors lower despite the 20th floor sporting the largest space.

Not that Blitz minded at all, if anything he preferred the extra arm space and silence. The line of work he was involved in often required extreme concentration. The last thing he needed was an explosion that would level the clock tower.

"Still, I must really be lucky. If I recall correctly, there should be a training session going on directly above." Blitz remarked to himself as he continued to shake a bunch of chemicals. Combat Division was notorious for breaking things and being loud which was partially why no one wanted to work directly below the floor they were training on. Just last month, the floor caved in on them due to wear and tear from sparring, causing more than just a minor explosion.

"Seems like the extra coating works this time round," Blitz grinned, admiring his handiwork. After all, he was the one who came up with the designs for the lacrima coating for the Perfect Cube. Seeing it do its job made his chest swell with pride.

And then he jinxed it.

First there was a slab of rubble that smacked him on the head, causing him to look up in suspicion. Sure enough, cracks were already lining the ceiling and dust began pouring down, a sign that whatever was about to happen was imminent.

"Oh hell no," Blitz groaned and the instant the words left his mouth, a huge chunk of the ceiling came crashing down. With it, the screaming forms of Tsuki and Zion.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" the duo yelled through freefall.

Wordlessly, Blitz reached out and touched the biggest slab of concrete, a white magic circle and his fingertips. Before it even hit the research table, the concrete slab vanished, reappearing several metres out and falling safely beyond the Wall. The remaining rubble scattered all around him and the two Combat Division mages collapsed into a heap behind him.

"Dear Mr S-class, what the hell did I tell you about restraint the last time this thing happened?" Blitz growled lowly, the tick marks on his forehead for all to see.

"See told you to show restraint," Tsuki reminded.

"Well whoops," Zion smiled sheepishly though that smiled vanished shortly when he saw the demonic aura pouring out from Blitz.

And so for the next hour or so, the duo had a hard and long lecture by Blitz about the properties of lacrima and why the hell they shouldn't break it. If the duo had a choice, they would rather spar elsewhere than incur the wrath of Blitz again.

 **The Wall**

"See its simple Vitra, you should try it!" a female mage called out as she balanced on her hands, hopping from tile to tile on the top of the Wall. This mage was dressed rather uniquely to say at the least, standing out easily in a crowd. She had a slim, lithe build, with supple thighs and small hips and waist. Standing at 5'3, she was a little curvy, but it's mostly around her hips and thighs. Her eyes were a warm golden brown, with a light burst of champagne amber around the pupils. Her heart shaped face had a small, straight nose, plump lips and arched eyebrows. Beneath her eyes were dark circles, a testament to the limited sleeps she gets due to being hyperactive. Her shoulder length messy hair was dyed several shades of silver, blue, and purple, going well with the ratty purple long-sleeved t-shirt that seemed to envelop her arms completely. The back of the shirt was open though, revealing her bright orange guild mark between her shoulder blades. To complete the outfit, a pair of faded blue jeans and white sneakers.

The female mage seemed to effortlessly cartwheel across the Wall's rim despite them being elevated several hundreds of metres in the air. Even for the most brave of mages, fooling around on the Wall was a big no no, especially when you could plunge to your death easily. Recklessness and courage was definitely the top of this girl's values.

Her companion though wasn't as keen as she was, instead standing a few feet back and watching the girl with a mixture of curiosity and interest. After all he had an image to maintain in Scarlet Nova. Not only as an S-class of the Combat Division but also the title of Calamity Zero.

"Come on down Neel," Vitra reminded warmly. "We are here to train aren't we?" Vitra stood at 6'5 and had a very muscular build and this, along with his tall stature, made him look very intimidating. He had an angular, long face with a long, thin nose, a large mouth and narrowed eyes that were a deep blue in colour but appear teal under certain light. His skin tone was rather pale and he had white hair that appeared quite long, but was always spiked up. When Vitra smiles with his mouth open, only one of his canines are visible, making it look as if he has a fang. He often wears a grey coloured top with an upturned collar and long sleeves, accompanied by long black pants with white stripes and a set of combat boots. Over this he wore a silver embroided exorcist cloak with a metallic cross over his heart and a set of black fingerless gloves.

"But this is training," Neel protested with a pout on her face. "When I get excited and hyperactive, I don't get nightmares as much."

"You aren't tackling the root of the problem you know?" Vitra sighed, his arms folded across his chest.

"You aren't tackling the root of the problem you know?" Neel mimicked Vitra's pose, balancing on her head alone and lowering her voice.

That got Vitra into a small laugh, causing Neel's own grin to grow wider. "Besides I always feel a lot safer with you around. So there's no need to be so uptight about it."

"I can't always be there you know," Vitra protested but Neel firmly shook her head.

"Nope, I know that you'll always be there to catch me when I fall. Just like all those years ago."

"I was there just by coincidence," Vitra retorted.

"Then what do you call this," Neel smiled as she flipped herself back up. She then proceeded to close her eyes and jumped off the edge of the Wall.

"HEY!" Vitra yelled in shock as he watched Neel's form disappear beneath the wall. Without a moment's hesitation, he too leapt off the Wall, watching as Neel continued to freefall.

"Awaken and Shred, Bahamut!" Vitra commanded as the veinish black tattoo that resembled a dragon's jaws over his right arm came to life. From the palm of his right arm, a black and bony scythe appeared. At the end of the scythe there was a sharp barb while on the bladed end, a dragon's claws could be seen gripping the scythe's blade and the back of the blade has a dragon's skull resting on it. The blade itself was double edged and was pitch black with purple runes inscribed on it.

Using his free arm, he grabbed Neel by her hand, halting her fall while the other raked the scythe across the Wall's surface, grinding them to a stop.

"ARE YOU CRAZY!" Vitra yelled across the strong winds that were blowing. Despite their predicament, Neel's eyes were filled with warmth and the smile on her face still held strong. "Told you that you would always be there for me." She grinned.

Vitra just sighed in frustration, realising that it was pointless to argue with Neel. Flicking his wrist slightly, he flung himself and Neel back over the Wall. Having done its job, Vitra banished his scythe, having it return to the tattoo state on his arm.

"Alright alright, you win." Vitra sighed as he acknowledged Neel's words. "Just please don't do such a thing again. You almost gave me a heart attack." His voice laced with concern.

'Anything for you Vitra," Neel smiled warmly, her hand behind her back as she skipped her way back into the clock tower.

Sometimes Vitra really wondered who was really in charge of the other. If anything, the training was not for Neel but rather for Vitra instead.

 **A/N:** _Heya guys! Thanks so much for the overwhelming responses that you guys have given so far. Like holy crap, I actually maxed out all reservation slots in less than a day. How awesome is that! Anyways, I hoped you guys enjoyed the first introduction chapter of the reboot. For those that are new, updates will be sporadic in October before I go AFK again in November due to National Exams. Will be back on the 1_ _st_ _of December, I promise. OC submissions and reservations are nearly closed with just a single slot left open. Due to overwhelming responses for A and S class, I may have to drop some OCs down a notch. Will contact the respective authors regarding this. Apart from this, just to clarify, C rank does not mean that you are weak. It just means that you lack the experience. Well I guess that sums up what I have to say and I'll talk to you guys next time XD_

 _Death Obelisk Out_

 **Credits**

 **Anim8or: Kasper "Neel" Pax**

 **KingKatsu: Zion Fox**

 **SnowMistress15: Tsukiko Takahashi, Sora and Shiro**

 **Elegant Soul: Chantal and Aengus**

 **Martyn: Vento Kagami**

 **Novachrono: Blitz Alibaster**

 **Death Obelisk: Vitra "Calamity" Zero**


	3. Intro Arc 2

**January 3** **rd** **, Guild Hall**

"Morning Sir Killian!"

"Good day Sir Killian."

While the mage acknowledged all those that greeted him, he could not help but let out an internal sigh. Though respectful, the mages' voices lacked the certain joy or comfort they possessed when greeting a friend or a comrade, replacing it with a tinge of fear and hesitance instead; evident from how they quickly scuttled past him after greeting.

"Tch, probably should have stayed in bed today," the mage grumbled. It wasn't his fault that he wasn't as charismatic as Vitra or as open as Zion, but he was still slightly grateful that they didn't ignore him completely either. His cold personality seemed to put people off one way or another and the silky tone that he spoke with only seemed to unnerve them even more. After a long night manning the Wall, this mage was eager to take a break. If not for the report regarding the new recruits that joined this month, the mage was eager to return to his house for some meditation.

The mage went by the name of Kozmotis Killian, and like Vitra and Zion, was an S-class mage. He stood at 6'3 and had a thin build that was almost till the point of malnourishment. That added to his pale complex and the black vein tattoos that lined his body only seemed to scream living corpse at everyone that saw him, further distancing themselves. He had glossy dark hair that was spiky towards the back, going well with the dark grey eye he had. The left one though, was obscured with a black eye patch due to it being blind. He usually draped himself in a long, black robe with a deep v-neck neckline.

"Perhaps some coffee would perk me up," Kozmotis thought to himself, making his way to the bar with that in mind. While he worked better in the dark and did not really sleep much, yesterday night was particularly draining on him. Apart from having to watch over the Wall, there also came the problem of his three companions.

No, no no, he would take that back. An associate was probably the better word choice. If anything, the four were hardly even close. Just four mages being put on the same job due to similar abilities and liking the calm of the night.

Despite the exhaustion, he remembered clear as day what had happened. Iggie decided to pull a prank on the other two by dropping the rampart on them. Unfortunately, the prank didn't end so well when they busted the lever used to lower the rampart, causing it to be utterly jammed. As a result, all four of them had spent the night rearranging and replacing the busted gears, something none of them were good in. To make matters worse, the rampart still could not properly function; forcing them to leave a sign to tell travelers that entrance to Valgore has been put on hold for a few days.

"Damn that brat," Kozmotis cursed as he chugged the last of his coffee. If it had just been an internal affair, Kozmotis would have punished him on the spot but now that the only entrance into Valgore from Bosco has been sealed off, he had no choice but to raise things to Master Glaive, something that he was hoping to avoid. The last thing he needed was one of his associates being replaced with someone even more annoying. He was perfectly fine with how things stayed currently.

As Kozmotis continued to dwell in his thoughts, they were instantly shattered when he heard the creaking of the guild gates as they opened.

"Is the guild master in?" a voice growled, causing Kozmotis to turn his attention to the owner of the voice. The man in question was bald and had dark brown eyes, standing at nearly 6'7 and dwarfed almost every mage that currently present. He currently donned a white double breasted suit with some black slacks and to end the set, a pair of church shoes.

Seeing as how Master Glaive was not down yet, Kozmotis decided to take the initiative to speak to the man though he really did not have the energy. Even so, it was his job as an S-class mage to take over the helm of the guild should the Master not be around and he was not one to shirk from duty when it called.

"Hello," he greeted the mage simply. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"This is the guild Scarlet Nova right," the mage grinned, causing Kozmotis to nod his head. "I'm looking to join." He finished a cocky smirk on his face.

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise," Kozmotis started, "We have a lot of recruits this early in the year. May I know your name?"

"Fields, Trevor Fields." Trevor arrogantly stated.

"Ok Trevor, before you can officially become a guild member we have to run a test to sort you into a class." Kozmotis explained. "Almost all our recruits are sorted into the B or C class when they first join but…"

"Whoa whoa, hold it. Who the hell said I wanted to join the lower ranks. If I'm going to join, I want to be S-class, nothing less. You got that?" Trevor growled coldly, causing Kozmotis to sigh as his explanation was cut off.

"As I was saying, the class you are initially sorted into has nothing to do with your abilities but is merely a starting point for all members…" Kozmotis tried to explain again only for Trevor to cut him off again.

"Like I give a damn about that. What's the point of power when you can't show it off." Trevor rolled his eyes, much to Kozmotis' displeasure. "Why don't you get an S-class to talk to me instead boy."

"I am an S-class." Kozmotis stated flatly.

"Hahahhahahahaha!" Trevor mocked. "You're kidding right. What the hell did a weak boy like you do to become S-class? If anything, this proves my point! Scarlet Nova needs stronger mages in their S-class, instead of weak little boys who are about to collapse on their feet."

That did it for Kozmotis. While he could stand being interrupted and mocked, he was one to take things lying down when his guild was insulted. Looks like Trevor needed a lesson about humility, starting with him.

"Very well then," Kozmotis stated, removing his robe to reveal a simple white turtleneck, grey trousers and black footwear. "If you beat me, you can take my position as S-class. If you lose, you'll be sorted into the guild just like everyone else. Deal?"

"Don't regret this boy. I have a weapon that is gonna put you in your place real soon." Trevor grinned coldly, removing his own suit to reveal a black vest and a burgundy shirt with a white tie.

"Hey look! A fight is starting!" voices of excitement echoed throughout the guild.

"Who's it between."

"I think its Sir Killian and the newcomer!"

"Cool! The S-class mage is administering the test himself!"

Very soon an entire flock of B and C class mages filled the walls and roof of the courtyard, each of them scrambling for a good spot to witness the showdown. While it was quite common to see new mages take the administration test, to have an S-class participate in it is another matter completely. The last time it happened was 4 years ago and none of the mages wanted to miss a spectacle like this.

"Hit me with your best shot," Kozmotis said, his arms folded across his chest.

"Will do!" Trevor gloated as he immediately did a series of back flips, landing on top of Scarlet Nova's gates. In that same instant, he held both his palms out and crossed them, a blue glow emanating from them. That was when Kozmotis' eyes caught sight of it, a coiled dragon tattoo that rested neatly in each of his palms. To the average Joe, most would just pass it off as a simple tattoo but Kozmotis knew all too well what it represented.

"A Dragscale user!" Kozmotis' eyes widened in the surprise. So that was where the man got his confidence from!

"Freeze the ebb of time, Kori!" Trevor yelled, unleashing his Dragscale weapon. In each of his hands was now a large cobalt revolver. The barrels to the revolvers were modeled after a dragons jaws and the spine of the dragon coiled around the trigger and handle of the gun itself, giving it an eerie feel. The bone frame of the dragon's wings curved out and went below the barrel, serving as a short blade for times of close combat.

"Ice Barrage!" he yelled, firing off a storm of ice stalagmites that exploded on impact. Kozmotis dodged them with ease, making use of the energy explosions to close the distance between the two of them. When he was within range, he leapt up and delivered a dropkick on where Trevor was seated a moment ago, only for Trevor to leap above him and dodge.

"Ice Beam!" Trevor called out as the dragon's jaw on the left revolver opened, a wide beam of ice blasting out from it. Although Kozmotis saw the attack coming and did a barrel roll to avoid it, the attack still scraped his back slightly, causing ice shards to dig into his skin.

"What power," Kozmotis thought to himself as he observed the damage. When the beam had hit, the entire gate was frozen solid. Guess Trevor wasn't bluffing when he said he was strong.

Deciding to take the offensive for once, Kozmotis charged straight for Trevor. As Trevor took aim with the right revolver, Kozmotis briefly touched the shadows lining the ground as he ran past. "Knuckle shadow!" he called out as armored fists made of shadows appeared from it, plummeting Trevor in the chin and midsection. That sent Trevor staggering backwards, right into where Kozmotis was lying in wait. As soon as he got close, Kozmotis delivered an axe kick to his ribs, sending him spiraling into a nearby wall.

"Had enough?" Kozmotis asked in his general direction, only to be responded with an enormous ice shard being fired in his direction, Kozmotis easily sidestepped to avoid the projectile, watching as Trevor crawled out from the hole in the wall.

"Like hell I did," Trevor smirked, "I'm just getting warmed up." Despite his confidence, Kozmotis could tell that he was on his last legs. The way he was nursing the place where his axe kick had struck and his ragged breathing was evidence of that. Judging from the way he seemed to keep his distance, Trevor was most likely not used to close combat.

"Give up now. You are nowhere near beating me." Kozmotis stated coldly, but Trevor shook his head slightly, that maddening grin still etched on his face.

"Why not you say that again after you take this!" he snarled, slamming both guns into each other. Two glows of light began to emit from the dragons' jaws, slowly overlapping with one another. At the same time, Kozmotis felt the temperature of the surroundings drop rapidly, icicles and snow starting to form all around the courtyard. The dense concentration of mana at the gun barrels was no small threat, its waning energies struggling to be unleashed in a single blow till the point that the environment was affected.

"Chew on this! Blizzard Howl!" Trevor roared as he fired off his spell. An immense column of snow and ice erupted from the guns' barrels, a deafening roar piercing through the air as it surged towards Kozmotis. Where the spell travelled, a stream of ice began to bode over, freezing everything it came into contact with.

Even in the face of such an attack, Kozmotis simply sighed once more. Looks like he wasn't going to be able to avoid this or block it with his magic. "What a pain," he uttered silently. He was already quite exhausted and he really did not want to use it but Trevor did force his hand.

"Fade to darkness, Pitch Black!" Kozmotis called out as he brought forth his own Dragscale weapon. Unknown to those present, the tattoo of a skeletal dragon across his chest vanished, revealing its true form in his hands. The weapon in question was katana though its design varied slightly. For one the weapon had no guard, simply a serrated black blade extending from a pale white hilt. For another, the hilt of the weapon had a chain of dragons' bones extending from it, coiling around Kozmotis' sword arm. The back of the blade was lined with what appeared to be dragons' teeth, giving the katana the overall appearance of a bent chainsaw.

"Chaos Eruption," he stated emotionlessly as he plunged the katana into the courtyard. Instantly an enormous blade of shadows erupted from beneath the column of ice, cleaving it into half. Trevor's eyes widened in shock as his strongest spell was instantly dispelled but not for long as the blade slashed him across his chest, sending him flying into yet another wall unconscious.

"Well class dismissed," Kozmotis banished Pitch Black, letting it return to tattoo state as he watched Trevor's prone form collapse in a corner. While he hated the man's cold and cocky attitude, he could not deny that he was strong in his own right. Even so, he still had a long way to go before he could truly call himself worthy of the S-class.

After deciding mentally that Trevor would be sorted into the B-class, Kozmotis proceeded to return to the guild hall, eager to submit his report and return home for a long rest. So exhausted was he that he failed to hear the resounding cheers and applause the rest of the mages gave him.

If only he could hear how much more they respected him now.

 **The Wall, nightfall**

Nightfall, the time of the day whereby most mages would retire for bed or go about relaxing and having a drink at the market district. After a long day of missions and training, it was only right for them to kick back and relax a little. However, that was assuming they all worked during the day. Unlike most guilds, Scarlet Nova was one that hardly went about with any breaks. When the moon rises, it is time for a bunch of mages to get down to work.

The Guardian Squad, Scarlet Nova's exclusive team of mages that operated in the dead of the night. Their mission was simple but yet the most important one: defending the Wall against any invaders. Unlike the Combat Division or Research Department, the Guardian Squad consisted mainly of nocturnals, mages who either worked better in the darkness or had reasons to avoid daylight. Applying for the Guardian Squad was also no easy feat, having the need to possess both the intellect of the Research Department and the raw strength of the Combat Division. Failure in this department usually led to severe punishments. An incomplete mission was one thing but threatening the lives of everyone beyond the Wall was another thing that Glaive would never let slide.

That being said, it didn't really stop anyone from screwing around, so long as they got the job done.

"Another cold night huh," a mage sighed as he stepped out of the clock tower, gripping the sides of his cloak to shield his body from the howling wind. Winter was already onto Valgore and patrol duty along the Wall only made the cold worse. The mage really hated the cold, though between it and sunlight, he would pick the former any day.

This mage stood at 5'8 with a slightly muscular body. His pale skin tone reflected the moonlight well as did his luminescent green eyes. He had spiky long black hair that shielded parts of his face, going well with the black body suit he wore. The mantle attached to it was equally as jet black, having only a single silver chain connecting it. To end off, a pair of black combat boots.

Overall, this mage blended well with the shadows, making his presence nearly invisible to the naked eye. That alone made him an ideal candidate for the job but that wasn't to say that he was completely undetectable.

"Are you afraid of the dark, Asuka…" a seductively creepy voice whispered into his ear as soon as Asuka stepped out of the door. To add on to the fear factor, a forked tongue gently coiled around his neck, hissing slightly as though issuing a threat. While the average mage would have probably yelled blue murder and took their chances jumping off the Wall, Asuka wasn't really fazed at the least. After all, he knew exactly who that idiot was.

"Iggie, if you do that one more time, I swear I will throw you off the Wall." Asuka hissed, causing the owner of the tongue to click it in annoyance, releasing its coil around his neck. At that point, the wind blew away a few clouds that were obstructing the moonlight, letting it shine against the clock tower and revealing the mysterious assailant.

When seen, it was easily understood why that mage chose to take a job as part of the Guardian Squad. He was currently hanging upside down from one of the clock tower's balconies, his emerald scaly skin glistening in the moonlight. That along with his scaly clawed hands and serpent like tail only seemed to affix his role as a lizard man. This mage had spiky swoopy dark purple hair that was currently sticking out of a lime green monster hoodie, completely obscuring his face. The centre part of the hoodie was decorated with dark green stripes and the hood itself was decorated like an actual monster's face, sporting a pair of horns and a cross-stitched mouth. Ending off, he wore a pair of dark purple skinny jeans and a pair of black ankle high slip ons.

"Tch, you're no fun Asuka," Iggie sighed as he leapt down from his position, his orange eyes glowing in disappointment. As he landed, it was evident that Iggie was slightly shorter than Asuka, standing only at 5'3 though that didn't stop him from staring back at him.

"Fun," Asuka let the word roll over his tongue a few times before glaring back at the lizard man. "The last time you had fun you broke the rampart. I'm still surprised that Master Glaive still allowed you to remain here."

"Well, that just probably means he needs my skills," Iggie gloated, crossing his hands across his chest. Asuka just rolled his eyes in response, muttering something under his breath about Iggie being a bigot. Too bad for him, Iggie heard it.

"HEY! What is that supposed to mean huh?" he snarled, causing Asuka to turn around.

"Exactly what it meant. Stop thinking so highly of yourself or you may just end up like that newcomer this morning." Asuka retorted back.

"Huh! Like you can take me! We both know that I'm the real monster between the two of us!" Iggie grinned savagely, revealing rows of sharp canines.

Before Asuka could rebut, a wave of energy swept across both of their heads, causing both of them to duck as it exploded silently into the mountains beyond them.

"Dammit man, I really wish he would stop doing that." Asuka grumbled under his breath as he regained his composure. "You know, you could have said something about him being here already."

"Not like I give a damn," Iggie shrugged, his claws running through his hair to ensure nothing got shaved off. "You should know by now. He's always early."

Although Iggie would never admit it, the real monster of them all was seated in the watchtower a few meters ahead of them. The mage stood at 6'3, having a slightly tanned and muscular body. He had spiky green hair and an angular face, as well as teal green eyes. He was often seen dressed in a long white sleeved shirt which had the top two buttons undone. Above it was a green flak jacket that he wore over. He also wore a pair of black jeans and a pair of sneakers. Along his jeans was a brown loop belt that hung slightly off to his right. Around his neck was a golden medallion with a silver chain and he also had a pair of ocean blue gloves worn on his hands that extend to his mid arms.

Amongst the three of them, he was not only the most senior but also the most powerful, barring the two S-classes that were in the same Squad as them. Although Iggie had joined just over a year ago, he had long heard stories of him. The only member throughout Scarlet Nova's history that actually came close to beating an S-class on his admission test. Because of that, he was immediately promoted to being an A-rank though Iggie and Asuka both knew that he had yet fully shown the extent of his powers.

"Kane, you could have just said something you know," Asuka protested. Despite having someone speak to him, Kane barely even turned his head. Instead his gaze was locked towards the far reaches of Bosco as though in a trance.

"It's not as though words would get through either of you," he replied coldly, not even turning to look at them. "The least you could do is keep quiet after causing the huge mess last night and stop attracting attention to us."

"Hmmph! You're not the boss of me!" Iggie snorted. "I do whatever I want and wherever I want. And no one…"

Before Iggie could say another word, another wave of energy struck the ground right between Iggie's legs, causing the mage to yelp in shock as he fell backwards.

"Behave yourself," Kane growled slowly, faint killer intent glowing in his eyes. "Kozmotis and Aamor aren't here so my word is law. Try anything funny like that stupid stunt yesterday and I will personally throw you off the Wall."

Iggie gulped nervously as he quickly scrambled back to his feet. Despite the scowl on his face, he nodded his head slightly, still feeling very bitter over the turn of events. While he did enjoy screwing around with people, Kane just wasn't the guy he would want to mess with. True, he was put in charge of the Wall's defences when the two S-class weren't around but that wasn't what Iggie was worried about. Kane had a nasty habit of carrying out what he said he would. Just last month, he almost threw a member off the clock tower for a prank he pulled on him, thankfully being stopped in time by Aamor and Vitra.

"Lighten up Kane," Asuka said, placing his hand over Kane's shoulder. Kane immediately dispelled his killer intent, his eyes reverting back to their forlorn look as he turned to face Asuka.

"It's not a joke to screw with the lives of the innocents," Kane retorted seriously. "Kozmotis would have probably done the same if he was here."

"Iggie will learn. In due time." Asuka assured though Kane merely brushed it off, leaving Asuka shrugging his shoulders.

"What's his deal anyways," Iggie asked when both him and Asuka left to patrol the wall. "I get it that our job's important but I was just kidding. Can't he take a joke?"

"It's a long story." Asuka replied, adjusting his cloak once more. "Don't worry about it. Kane may be strict but he really does care for the lives of others a lot. After working with him for about 2 years, I know better than anyone in the guild."

"I sure hope so," Iggie grumbled. "Because if he keeps this up, I'm never going to have any fun."

After an hour or so, the duo had finished their patrol and was halfway back to the watch tower when Asuka suddenly spotted something strange.

"Hey, are those lights I see?" Asuka wondered out loud as he tried to focus on the glowing orbs of orange he saw in the distance. Iggie glanced slightly at the clock tower, noting mentally that the time was just over 3 in the morning. It was way too early for the sun to be up. With that in mind, he turned his attention to where Asuka was pointing.

"Looks more like torches to me," Iggie replied, his eyes being more accustomed to the darkness. The way they bounded up and down was very similar to someone running. Throw in the metallic glint from beneath them and Iggie easily pierced the information together. "If I'm not wrong, it should be a group of knights running off into the woods."

"At this time of the day?" Asuka wondered, glancing through a pair of binoculars to confirm Iggie's findings. True enough, it really was a group of knights holding a bunch of torches. From what Asuka could see, they seemed to be looking around frantically, barking out orders as though looking for something or someone. As he zoomed in a bit more, he noticed the crest that the knights sported on their chest plates, easily recognising it.

"The Yliaster Family," Asuka spoke out aloud.

The Yliaster family was one of the eight noble families that ruled the lands of Bosco. Like the rest of its people, they relied mainly on slavery for trade. There had been several reports of them mistreating and physically abusing their slaves before but due to their sphere of influence over Bosco, the magic council there could only keep mum about it.

"So what's a noble family's private military force doing so near our border anyway?" Iggie questioned. Asuka simply shrugged, not knowing for sure himself. They had at best only 10 men with them, so he ruled out an invasion or attack on the Wall. Judging from how they were waving their torches about, it looked as though they were on a hunt. But for what exactly?

As though reading his thoughts, Asuka's answer came in the form of a fleeting figure he saw leaving the forest. From what he could make out, the figure was definitely female. She seemed to be slightly tanned and dressed in ragged scraps of cloth. Add that to the black shackles around her legs and arms, Asuka immediately recognized her as a slave.

"Please help me!" she yelled desperately as she made a break for the Wall. "I don't want to go back! Is anyone there?!" Half way through her run, she tripped and fell face first. Despite the pain in her knees and arms, she still continued to run for the rampart, not stopping till she reached it.

"Please help!" she begged, hammering heavily on the rampart with whatever strength she had left. "Is anyone there? I don't want to go back! It hurts a lot!"

"Well shit," Asuka cursed under his breath. "Now what are we supposed to do." Master Glaive had told them specifically to keep the rampart raised after midnight and also not to interfere with the affairs of Bosco. There was no way he was going to defy orders and even if he wanted to, the rampart could not be lowered, no thanks to a certain mage's fault.

"Hey! I didn't wish for this to happen too you know?" Iggie growled when he noticed the dirty stare Asuka gave him. "So are we just going to ignore the girl?"

"What choice do we have," Asuka stated flatly as he began to turn and leave. "Orders are orders."

"There she is! Don't let her escape!" a voice hollered from the woods.

"Please open up! I'm begging you!" the girl yelled, anxiety and desperateness laced in her voice. Sensing the footsteps that were getting nearer, the girl began sobbing incoherently as she frantically turned around every few seconds. Watching her pursuers close in, she pounded the rampart even harder, hoping someone, anyone, would hear her pleas for help.

"Caught you, you little wretch!" one of the Knights declared angrily as he yanked the girl's hair, causing her to scream in pain. As he threw her to the ground, the rest of the knights proceeded to plummet her with punches and kicks, forcing her to curl up into a small ball as she whimpered. "The Master will deal with you when we get back. See you try to run again after that!"

"Please! Someone help me!" the girl continued to whimpered despite being pushed headfirst to the ground. Her voice was broken by now, soft inaudible noises being murmured as tears rolled down her eyes. The look in her eyes was like a void, filled with nothingness as her spirit was crushed. Her one glimmer of hope, just went out like a flame on a windy night.

"I don't want to die," the girl sobbed silently.

"That's it man!" Iggie roared in anger, unable to take it anymore. "We have to save her!'

"Great idea!" Asuka mocked in anger. "We can't exactly leave the Wall you know. Let alone save her since the rampart's busted!"

"Then what do you want us to do? Watch her die?" Iggie snarled, causing Asuka to go silent in helplessness. His instincts were all screaming for them to go save the girl but they just couldn't leave their posts. Besides, there was no way they could get to her quickly. By the time they reached the base of the clock tower, they would have been long gone.

"Watch the Wall," a voice uttered monotonously from behind the two and before either of them could turn around, they watched with mouths agape as Kane leapt off the wall's surface.

"HOLY SHIT!" Iggie remarked as he watched Kane free fall.

"This is going to get out of hand very quickly," Asuka stated coldly, though his eyes were one of relief.

Within a few seconds, Kane was nearly at the bottom of the Wall. Like an owl, he fell silently, not making a single sound as he descended. When he was 50 metres from the ground surface, he channelled magic into his fists and legs, hardening them for the imminent impact. As soon as he neared the group, he slammed his fist straight into the ground, creating a an explosion of energy which swept all the knights off their feet and some into the trees. When Kane stood up, a small crater had formed where he had landed, the earth around him having cushioned the fall.

"Get behind me," Kane stated emotionlessly to the girl as he helped her off her feet. Despite the lack of warmth in Kane's voice, the girl's eyes sparkled with relief and gratitude, tears already streaming from the sides of her face. As though exhaustion had overtook her body, she collapsed silently in a heap behind Kane, a look of relief on her face.

"Damn it, where the hell did he come from?"

"Doesn't matter. If he interferes, kill him."

"I would like to see you try," Kane growled, magic swirling around his fists as he assumed a battle stance. Without any warning, Kane charged at the group of knights who hastily armed themselves with magically reinforced swords and crossbows. The first two that Kane came across had barely taken out their weapons before Kane slammed his fists into their gut and chin respectively, knocking them out cold. The third Knight went in close for a vertical slash, only for Kane to grab the blade with his open palms, crushing the weapon instantly. The Knight looked utterly stunned at the sight of his broken weapon and was unable to react when Kane kneed him through the guts and clobbered his head to the ground.

Two of the Knights tried to take up point, huddling against the wall as they readied their magic crossbows. Before their fingers could reach the trigger, a certain tongue wrapped around their necks, causing them to snivel and yell in fear.

"Are you afraid of the dark," Iggie whispered as he hung upside down above the duo. When the two knights looked up, all they could see was a monstrous lizard with sharp canines and orange eyes glaring back at them, causing them to scream in fear even more before Iggie jumped down and ploughed their heads into the earth.

"What are you doing?" Kane asked as he slashed across the chest plate of yet another knight with a magically reinforced arm. "I told you to watch the Wall."

"And let you hog the glory? Not my style." Iggie retorted, a sharp grin on his face. "Besides Asuka's manning things up there."

That being said, Asuka was also participating in the fight as well. As though he was commanding an orchestra, Asuka was waving his fingers about, manipulating the shadows that were lined along the forest floor. Hands of darkness appeared out of nowhere, some gripping the Knights and binding them while others ruthlessly punching them into oblivion. From a far it resembled something out of a horror story, as though the hands of the underworld have come to drag sinners back to hell.

"Duck," came Kane's simple order and despite Iggie's obstinance, he decided to comply this time when he saw what Kane was about to do. The moonlight that shone on Kane caused his body to glow with a white aura as the air around him hummed with power. Iggie watched as Kane inhaled slightly, his chest swelling ever so slightly before he roared wordlessly, a column of blue energy erupting from the front of his mouth. It was like a tidal wave, quickly engulfing the rest of the Knights that remained standing and rendering them unconscious from the overload of magical particles. As quickly as it came, the attack also quickly dissipated, showering the sky and forest in a rain of lunar sparkles.

"Bloody Mary," Iggie whispered. Now he understood why the S-classes left him in charge when they weren't around. "Are you a slayer?" he asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. If anything, that resembled a breath attack like what some of the slayers in the guild frequently used.

"Who knows," Kane replied simply as he dusted his cloak and proceeded to walk to the girl.

"Is she alright?" Asuka called from above.

"Her vitals are weak but she's fine." Kane reported as he proceeded to carry the girl bridal style. Though alive, she needed to receive medical treatment immediately and there wasn't a moment to waste.

"Well we've done goofed now," Asuka sighed as he watched the scene from above. The Yliaster Family was never going to let Scarlet Nova hear the end of this when the Knights woke up.

"Don't worry about it," Iggie smirked. "I have a little something that will make them forget everything. It'll be just like a nightmare when they wake up, as though none of this happened in the first place."

With that Iggie proceeded to whisper something into each Knight's ear, causing them to writhe and contort their bodies as though they were afflicted by a very bad nightmare. When it was all done, Iggie then carried each Knight back into the forest where they were first sighted, far away from where the fight had taken place. That way, all evidence that Scarlet Nova was involved vanished without a trace.

"What did you do to them?" Kane asked when Iggie returned, a goofy smile on his face.

"Who knows?" Iggie smirked as he used Kane's words back against him. "When you're ready to talk, so will I."

Kane said nothing in response, though Iggie caught the trace of a faint smile on his face. Deciding not to push it, Iggie kept it to himself and with that, both mages began the long climb back up the Wall.

Though neither mage would ever say it, both of them had a new sense of respect for each other. For Iggie, Kane having a more compassionate side and for Kane, Iggie proving to be much more than just a troublemaker.

 **A/N:** _And here's the second intro chapter for you guys. Hope you guys enjoy this one since its more action packed XD. Sadly fanfiction is having some problems with their servers so the reviews aren't showing up_ _Anyways, OC submissions are officially closed and won't open again until the end of the arc. For those who have yet to submit your OCs, don't worry. Your spots are all reserved. Apart from that, OC ranks have yet to be fully compiled so please bear with me a while longer. Also, I will be having collaboration with KingKatsu for the story of Scarlet Nova. Please do check out his fic when its out as it is also set in the same universe as mine. In any case, do let me know if I have portrayed your OCs correctly and I'll talk to yall later_

 _Death Obelisk out_

 **Credits**

 **W. : Kozmotis Killian**

 **Scarlet Armoury 1: Asuka Yui**

 **Klbubblepop786: Trevor Fields**

 **PhantomWish: Igneous J. Foster - AKA: Iggie**

 **Death Obelisk: Kane Strix**


	4. Intro Arc 3

**January 4** **th** **, General Meeting Room**

"There. Everything is now all set and ready to go," a female mage hummed happily to herself as she lit the last of the incense holders in the room. Within seconds, the room was filled with a fresh fragrance that seemed to invigorate her spirit even more, causing a wide grin to appear across her face.

"Now all that's left is for the rest of them to arrive," she thought out aloud as she took a seat, mindlessly looking around the room while waiting for her colleagues to arrive. This mage went by the name of Aamor Rozenn and she was currently the most senior S-class in Scarlet Nova. She had long, dark chocolate brown hair that covered her red and rusty eyes, often concealing their droopy expression. Her slightly tanned skin tone along with her pointed nose and slightly sharper facial features made her quite the beauty to look at. She was currently wearing a Chinese styled, red top that was sleeveless, the collar coming half way up her neck and closed off by gold buttons. She also wore long, red fingerless gloves that came up to her elbows, paired with tight, black jeans that are tucked into black, heeled ankle boots. She normally has two chained, steel thuribles threaded through her belt loops, the thuribles hanging on either side of her hips. That along with the tattoo on her left shoulder of a red rose in full bloom with the thorny, black stem wrapping around her arm made the mage have a rather striking presence anywhere she went.

"I guess I can never get tired of this, looking through all these old photos." She smiled cheerfully as she began flipping through an old photo book that was lying on the table. Within it held most of her precious memories with the guild and flipping through it was as good as reliving them.

Then again, the entire meeting room was a treasure trove of her favorite memories. Though the place wasn't as big as the labs or training domes, it was quite warm and cozy. The room was fairly large on its own, though that was due to the large oaken table that was set right smack in the centre. A bit further to the right was a small balcony that allowed her a Birdseye view of the guild's courtyard and the Wall. All around her were trophies and certificates of Scarlet Nova's accomplishments and victories in the Grand Magic Games, the shine on them still retaining despite all those years having past.

"Oh I love this one the best," she chirped, gazing into the folder labeled "S-class Exams". At the top right corner was a photo of her rubbing the heads of two of her disciples. It was a monumental moment for her too, as both of them cleared the S-class exams on the same day and at the same time as well. There was Vitra, the big smirk on his face, and Raven, the cool and collected grin he still sported today. It still brought a tear to her eye seeing how much the two have grown over the past 4 years.

"Yo Roz. I'm here." Vitra called out warmly as he entered the meeting room, his arms filled with documents.

"Welcome back Vitra," Aamor greeted as she proceeded to help her student with the paperwork. "It's been a while since I've seen your face out of the clock tower. So how's the training in the combat division?"

"Well, it's always the usual," Vitra shrugged as he took a seat, propping his legs up on the meeting table. "Tsuki is always skipping out on training with me while Neel's always giving me a heart attack with her balancing acts."

"With your laidback personality and all, I'm hardly surprised." Aamor chided gently as she began sorting through the files that Vitra had brought in. "You should really stop pulling your punches in spars and be a tad more overbearing at times. That way, recruits and your own division will stop thinking that you are a pushover."

"Well, I don't think I have the heart to do that Roz. You know me better than anyone else in the guild." Vitra chuckled nervously, rubbing his nose as he tried to disperse the awkward atmosphere.

Aamor just shook her head in response, though the small smile on her face said otherwise. That was what she really liked in both her students. Despite being S-class, they did not push their weight against others and continued to maintain their carefree natures. While that made them good leaders, she feared that it may also one day to lead to their downfall. Unlike Raven, Vitra was not one to get serious at all and she was worried that it may cost him his S-class title.

"By the way, I'm gonna need you to be an examiner this year," Aamor casually mentioned as she continued to divide the documents into neat little piles although what she said did not go unnoticed by Vitra.

"Nah, I'll pass." Vitra replied. "You know I'm not cut out for this kind of things."

"It's not an option Vitra," Aamor spoke once more, though her voice was a lot more serious this round. "Master Glaive has decided to bring forward the A-Class Examinations this year, so we'll be simultaneously holding both of them at once. Because of that, we need all S-classes to partake as examiners."

That brought a frown to Vitra's face but what Aamor said next made him all the more downcast.

"I shouldn't be telling you this Vitra, but Master Glaive also hinted that he may be observing you as an examiner to determine whether you should remain as an S-class. So I highly suggest you start taking things more seriously from here out."

Vitra sighed inwardly. He knew this day would come sooner or later given his lax nature. Seems like it was high time he decided to shape up and sharpen his skills once more.

"Roger that Roz," he smirked as he got off his seat, faking a crisp salute as he walked to the door. Halfway there he stopped, as though having forgotten something.

"Oh yeah," he started, bending over to pick up a black plastic bag that he left at the room entrance earlier. "Old man Jones seemed to have some great stuff at his store so I decided to pick them up for you." With that he proceeded to toss the bag at Aamor who caught it single handedly. A quick glance at the contents confirmed her suspicions: A stack of paperback romance novels.

"You sure do understand my tastes," Aamor smiled warmly as she laid the bag at her side. Now she had something to kill time before meeting the Master.

"Well, you did teach the best." Vitra grinned as he waved goodbye, closing the door after him.

The instant Vitra left the room; Aamor instantly dropped all the paperwork in her hands and pulled out one of the paperback novels, eager to continue reading where she had left off in the previous novel.

"And so James swept Jessie off her feet, his face inching closer to hers. Jessie said nothing, her eyes closed as she prepared herself…"

 **Clock Tower, Floor 19**

Due to the "accident" which had happened days earlier, the laboratory on the 20th floor had been cordoned off until the repairs could be completed. Although necessary, it caused a large amount of complaints from the Research Department, their developments and research being disrupted and all by the unruly Combat Division. Given that the laboratory on the 20th floor was the largest one, most of the mages have taken it upon themselves to conduct their own research at other locations which included the courtyard and their personal adobes. While the other laboratories were available, they were either smaller in size or focused on specific forms of research instead. While that was considered a turn off for members of the Research Department, there were the few of them which found the arrangements more than sufficient.

"Ok Korol, please remember to hold back. The last thing we need right now is for this laboratory to go bust as well." A mage called out to his companion as he fiddled with the lacrima keyboard, keying in codes of data which appeared as green neat lines on the monitor before him. This mage had a rather attractive face which went well with his 6'0 toned body and his raven black hair that had white streaks in it. His pale skin tone provided a deep contrast to the sleeveless black vest and jeans he donned. Apart from that were grey sneakers and a bandaged left arm. Despite the scar running down his left eyes, the mage had 20/20 vision which was considered important for his job.

"Even if you tell me that Lance," Korol addressed the other mage, "this idiot here will keep telling me to increase the output. Unlike the rest of us, he has a much higher pain and endurance threshold." Unlike his companion, Korol stood at an average height of 5'8 and wore a pair of spectacles. He had an average body build and rather messy hair, although most of the blue fibers were bunched into a ponytail using a golden brace. That was a stark contrast to the scarlet eyes he held, making him stand out amongst others. For clothing he wore a simple pair of black dress pants and a white collared dress shirt, completely buttoned up with a red tie hanging from the neck. Currently draped over this was a white lab coat that had been inscribed with barrier and protective runes. Although Korol was pretty sure his magic could fend off any explosions, he decided to play it safe, especially since their third member had a tendency to "blow up" unexpectedly.

"Hmmph! Well I guess I'll take that as a complement, especially since it's coming from you Korol." The third mage grunted in response, a cocky grin smeared across his face. Unlike the other two mages, this one was fundamentally different. Being almost half machine, he did not feel as much pain as others. Even his human side had a high pain tolerance, making him an overall tank for the team and a perfect guinea pig for the stress test.

Said male stood at 6'5, towering over everyone else in the laboratory. He had a muscular body and peach coloured skin. He appeared youthful-looking with medium-length, wavy, messy black hair, and his bangs are parted to the left and hang over his left eye. But what caught the attention of everyone was the steel jaw guard that was drilled into the side of his face and the crimson cybernetic eye that served as his right. He was currently wearing a devilish grin that exposed his razor sharp teeth. For attire, a simple white short sleeved shirt that was currently unbuttoned to reveal his muscular chest and black and gold baggy pants that were tucked into a pair of brown steel toed boots. One could clearly see the swathes of scars decorating his body as well as the random rows of screws that seemed to be implanted into him. Overall he resembled nothing less than a Frankenstein but to the natives of Alvarez, they knew very well what he was.

"Even if you say that Len, sound off if anything goes wrong." Lance reminded as he monitored Len's vital signs on the monitor. Unlike normal humans, Len's heartbeat was twice or three times faster due to his body being half machine, making the readings very inaccurate. Hence, Lance had to rely more on the mage's verbal responses instead of physiological ones.

"Alright, standing by Test number 58." Lance called out as he angled a camera to face directly at Len who currently had in his hand a conical flask containing a violet and pink liquid.

"In 3, 2, 1…Test commence!" Lance called out as Len proceeded to empty the contents of the flask. A few seconds passed before Len's entire body glowed slightly pink, a thin veil hanging directly over his body as though a second layer of skin.

"Vital signs holding," Lance reported from behind the monitor, "Energy field levels seem to be stabilised as well." With that, he proceeded to give a nod towards Korol, an indication to start the stress test.

"Hit me with your best shot!" Len grinned maniacally as he flexed and assumed a defensive pose.

Korol, on the other hand, said nothing, breathing deeply as he felt the mana flow through his body and concentrate at his palms. What seemed to appear as bright pink dots on his palms initially swiftly grew into orbs of pure energy, each almost the twice the size of a watermelon.

"Arcane Wave," Korol called out as he fired off the orbs as pink waves of energy directed straight towards Len. Instead of exploding like they should, the energy waves were instead absorbed by the pink veil, their energies dissipating harmlessly though the force of the impact did knock Len back slightly. Even so, the man did not drop his guard and the grin was still plastered on his face.

Lance's sights were still set on the monitor readings. Although the energy field levels' wobbled slightly when the arcane wave hit, they quickly returned to their set conformation.

"Let's try something faster, but with the same output," Lance called out to which Korol acknowledged. He just had to find out how long the field could last against a prolonged assault.

"Arcane Bow." Korol said as he concentrated the pink energy in his hands to be that of a bow. Using his free hand, he pulled back the bow string, allowing an arrow of arcane energy to charge up before releasing it. However instead of waiting to see if his target was hit, Korol proceeded to charge up the next arrow and released it, repeating the cycle over and over again.

This time though, with each arrow impact, Len's grin seemed to fade more and more. Unlike the energy wave, the arrows had the arcane magic concentrated on their tips, channelling all of their explosive energy to a single point. Even for an iron body like his, Len was gradually beginning to feel the sting and ache of each successful impact. Similarly, as though feeling his pain, the energy field's level began to fluctuate wildly, spiking at irregular interval. Visibly, the pink veil on Len's body was also starting to distort and expand, no longer capable of withstanding any more punishment.

"Korol!" Lance called out in worry, something which Korol instantly understood. He immediately stopped firing the energy arrows though from the looks of things, it may have been a bit too late.

"Oh shit," Korol cursed under his breath as he watched the events transpire before him. The pink veil had already turned bright red and it started to float off Len's body, creating more of a boundary field now. Though it may seem harmless, Korol knew better what was about to happen. His eyes could faintly see the energies building up within the field, straining about wildly as though demanding to be released. Any wrong move now and they could potentially trigger an explosion strong enough to destroy the lab. While he was sure Lance and himself could successfully get away in time, Len would mostly likely get killed in the progress, being in the epicentre of the explosion.

"Look Len, don't do anything." Lance called out as his fingers desperately smashed at the key board, searching for some sort of containment unit to withhold the energy burst or at least absorb the brunt of the force. Meanwhile Len just had a look of puzzlement on his face, wondering what the big fuss was all about.

"Errr, what's going on," Len questioned, taking a step forward which almost sent Korol and Lance into panic mode.

"DON'T MOVE!" they both yelled, causing Len to wince slightly and cover his ears.

"Geez! Can't you just say that normally? What's with the screaming?" Len whined as he shook his head to clear the ringing in his ear drums.

"If you haven't noticed you blockhead," Korol snapped. "You have just turned into a walking bomb!"

"What?!" Len cocked his head in surprise. Glancing his head around, he finally seemed to take in his surroundings, though one could hardly consider his response normal.

"This? Piece of cake."

"What?" Both mages instantly stopped what they were doing, their mouths hanging slightly agape. Lance looked like he was a cross between a bear and a flamingo, his hands simultaneously working on two keyboards to search for a containment unit and triggering the laboratory's emergency protocol. Korol's eyes were almost popping out of their sockets, his mind registering whether Len had gone mad from fear.

Instead to prove his point, Len did something unexpected. Opening his mouth slightly, he inhaled deeply, causing the nearby air to be sucked into his body like a vacuum. Miraculously, the energy field's magic particles also seemed to be absorbed as well. Gradually, the alarming red veil vanished from the room and right into the depths of Len's stomach. When that was all over, Korol and Lance watched in amazement as they saw Len's chest cavity shrink and expand rapidly several times, steam jets leaking out from his nostrils and ears. After about a minute or so, Len finally exhaled. When he did so, the screws on his back and chest popped out slightly, as though a machine had just finished a complex experiment and was deactivated. Adding on, the "skin" lining Len's stomach opened up into several metal flaps, revealing a red and violet orb beneath it.

"Well I hope this will help in subsequent tests," Len grinned as his body reverted back into its original conformation and he placed the orb in Lance's hands, which was still on looking in amazement at what just happened.

"Can all of you do that?" Korol asked, having found a new level of respect for his lab mate.

"Well not all of us since we originally did not possess magic," Len smirked. "You can say that I'm a special case."

"Indeed." Lance agreed as he analysed the orb's material. Though dense and thick, it was also highly flexible and he could make out that it was organic too. This was something that Lance had never seen before in his entire career in the Research Department and that only piqued his interest more.

"So are we done here?" Korol asked, having returned to his calm and composed demeanour.

"Yeah, I guess that concludes today's experiment." Lance replied as he deactivated the camera and monitors. From the looks of things, the energy field could only withhold up to 7 thousand joules of energy at once before exploding. Although it was useful against B and C class mages, it was highly probable that an attack or two from an A class mage would shatter it instantly. Despite the failure, it was still a good learning point and Lance believed he knew what went wrong exactly and how to improvise from there out.

"Great," Len yawned. "I'm in a good need for a cold shower. My insides are burning from doing that."

With that, both Korol and Len left, leaving Lance alone to sort out the research materials and find the orb a place for safe keeping.

 **Guild Infirmary**

"This had better not be a prank," Zion grumbled as he followed behind an anxious-looking Iggie.

"Trust me for once will you," Iggie snapped to which Zion scowled back. "I know I'm famous for being a prankster and I know I have done stupid things before but I am serious at times you know."

"Glad you know," Zion retorted. "That's exactly why I cannot trust you." While Zion was usually cheerful and all, he had a slight bias towards the younger mage, no thanks due to one of his pranks which caused Zion to consume a large amount of dirt and be sick for the following week.

Iggie also knew very well that Zion was probably still sore over the incident but what choice did he have. Considering that it was an emergency, Iggie decided to take his chances, sincerely hoping that Zion would not clobber him at first sight.

Within a few minutes they arrived at the guild infirmary where Asuka and Kane were waiting. Beside them was the young girl that they had found last night, lying unconscious on a bed with bandages covering her wounds. Now under proper light, they could finally make out the girl's features. She had short shoulder length violet hair and a rather tanned skin tone. She was of average height and had a medium sized bust that was barely obscured by the ragged pieces of cloth that served as her clothes. As far as the eye could see, she was covered in scars and the shackles still remain bound to her arms and legs. Another disturbing fact, she was not wearing any undergarments.

"Sooooooo…whose the chick," Zion drawled as he observed her prone form, his eyes occasionally darting about to avoid staring too much at her thighs or bust.

"We don't know," Kane replied honestly. "She was being pursued by the Yliaster family and since it happened right before the Wall, there was no way we could ignore it. So we decided to rescue her and bring her back into the guild."

"The Yliaster family?" Zion's ears perked up instantly. Although they were supposed royalty, they sure as hell didn't act like one. In fact, they would put the barbarians to shame. Having run into them several times during missions, Zion knew all too well that they were just and organised group of gangsters. "Then the shackles?"

"We suspect that she might have been a slave," Asuka added "though after the nurse had her checked, we don't think so anymore."

"Why?"

"She has magic powers," Iggie replied. "There is no way they are willing to have a mage as a slave. Especially since they have the ability to fight back easily and escape. That's why we think that these aren't shackles at all. They are magic restraints."

"Well, there's only one way to find out." Zion shrugged as he placed both his hands on the shackles. Concentrating, he allowed only a small trickle of magma to form at his fingers. Sufficient to melt the restraints but not hurt the girl in the process.

As soon as the restraints came off, the girl's eyes bolted open, causing everyone to step back in surprise and shock. What was even more terrifying was that the girl's eyes were completely purple, as though she had been possessed by something. Even though the girl's eyes were wide open, her body did not move an inch, instead laying there stiff like a corpse.

"Jeepers!" Iggie whispered. Being a monster, he was the one to give scares and yet the girl was seriously freaking him out. "Do you think she's still alive?"

"One, get the hell off me," Zion grumbled as he glared at Iggie who was still gripping tightly around his arm. Iggie blushed slightly in embarrassment as he climbed down, coughing and averting his gaze to dispel the awkward scenario.

"Two, she still breathing so, yes she's alive." Zion finished, though that hardly brought any comfort to the mages in the room.

Kane's brows were furrowed, his mind deep in thought. If he was correct, the girl's current condition was caused by her magic powers returning to her. If that was truly the case, the girl should not even be alive at this point. A surge of mana so strong that it causes the body to go rigid would have instantly destroyed her organs and muscles, and yet here she was still breathing. Something just did not add up.

Similarly, Asuka had his guard up. Although he had a sense that something was amiss, it was something different from Kane's concerns. Having a history with dark magic, Asuka could "sense" the darkness within a person's heart as well as dark pasts. From within the girl, he could feel a very sinister presence lurking. It was unlike anything that he had witnessed before, even during the time with his parents. He could literally sense it moving about within her and it felt as though it knew he could tell of its existence. This went way beyond the boundaries of just being a form of magic. Whatever it was, it was not happy and that fact alone unnerved Asuka to no end.

Then all of a sudden, as quickly as the girl's eyes turned purple, they faded. In its place were regular brown ones with black irises. A few seconds past before the girl started to blink, the life flooding back into the once emotionless eyes. She turned her head from side to side slowly and then once again, her face began contorted with fear when she saw strangers all around her.

"Please don't hurt me! Please don't hurt me! It hurts!" she screamed and wailed as she sat up, attempting to backpedal away from the Scarlet Nova mages. Instead, she fell backwards off the bed, causing a small squeal of surprise as she rolled backwards and bumped into the medicinal cabinet. The cabinet shook slightly, causing bandages and first aid pouches to rain on her.

"Owie owie," she whimpered as she rubbed the bumps on her head amidst the mess of medical supplies. "I'm so sorry, please forgive me. I didn't mean to do that on purpose! Please don't hurt me!" she cried out in fear when she realised the mess she had caused.

"Poor girl," Iggie muttered. She must have been treated very badly or even abused by the Yliaster Family. No wonder she was so afraid of making mistakes or getting hurt.

Wordlessly, Kane walked up towards her. Initially, the girl curled up into a small ball, tears rolling out of her eyes as she saw Kane's intimidating figure near. Zion was about to call Kane to back off when Asuka silenced him, silently mouthing "just watch."

"Hey there," Kane said gently as he stroked the girl on her head. "I'm sorry that we spooked you but don't worry about it. No one here is going to hurt you. I promise." With uncertainty, the girl slowly looked up at Kane, not knowing the truth behind his words. However the moment she saw the small smile on his face, she dropped her guard completely and hugged him for her dear life, tears raining as she cried her lungs out. All the while, Kane just kept petting her on her back, stroking her and repeating over and over, "its ok. You are safe."

"Damn me," Iggie smirked. "I didn't think Mr Big and Mysterious had a soft spot." Kane could barely put up with him and Asuka arguing and yet here he was, comforting a young girl like any caring elder brother.

"I told you, Kane is not all he seems at times." Asuka reminded. "While he may be strict, he really does care for others."

"Excuse me if I don't get the inside joke," Zion interrupted, hands on his hips. "But I think she has some questions that need to be answered." He was not one for mushy moments but it was imperative that they identified who the girl was and why she was being chased by the Yliaster family.

"What's your name," Kane started, breaking her embrace. "My name is Kane."

"Zion here," Zion gave a big goofy grin.

"Asuka," Asuka nodded.

"Iggie, at your service" Iggie bowed slightly.

"M…M…Mia," the girl muttered softly.

"Hi Mia," Kane smiled once more. "Do you mind telling me why you were being chased?"

"They…they wanted to bring me back. They wanted to do things to me…" Mia shuddered, her hand to her temples as she recalled.

"Do what?" Kane questioned further but Mia refused to answer. She just shook her head in response, her eyes shut tight as she continued to whimper.

"It's ok, it's ok." Kane reassured her, placing his hands on her shoulders. 'You done great so far." Mia just nodded her head slightly, sniffling as she tried to hold in her emotions.

"Mia, can you use magic?" Asuka asked, hoping to get to the bottom of the sinister presence he felt earlier.

Although Kane shot him a dirty look to tell him now wasn't the best time, Mia surprisingly replied with a nod of her head.

"Can you show us?" Zion probed further.

Again another nod of the head but this time she added. "You must attack me first though."

That sent Kane off the edge as he immediately stood up protectively in front of her. "No way in hell am I going to let you do that! She just recovered from being beaten and pursued! And you want to fight her?!"

"Relax Kane," Zion reassured him. "We are just trying to find out for why she needed the magical restraints and was being pursued."

"I promise you. We won't hurt her at all," Asuka placed his hand on Kane's shoulder. "We won't so much as touch her."

Disgruntled, Kane backed down, though he still had his eyes on the both of them. If he felt something amiss, he would definitely rush in to intervene. There was no way she was going to get hurt on his watch.

Both Zion and Asuka then proceeded to coat their fists in shadows and magma respectively. The mutual agreement was to pretend to hit Mia only and not actually hurt the girl. If nothing happened, they would just leave it as that.

"On three," Zion commanded and Asuka nodded in agreement.

"1"

"2"

"3"

At that moment both mages launched their punches. Kane's eyes widened in horror as he watched them near her, unaware that they were not actually going to hit her. He was about to intervene when something completely unexplainable happened before his and Iggie's eyes.

One moment they were right in front of them and in the next, they had both vanished with sounds of bricks crumbling and glass shattering.

"What…? Where did they go?" Iggie muttered, blinking and rubbing his eyes rapidly. Two of his guild mates had just vanished right before his eyes, as though they suddenly turned invisible.

Meanwhile, Kane's eyes were wide with horror and shock. His mouth hung open slightly, the disbelief written all over his face. It was just an instant, but he caught a faint glimpse of what just happened. Wordlessly, he tapped Iggie's shoulder and pointed in two directions. Iggie turned his head to look and just like Kane, his eyes too widened in fear and disbelief.

"What the hell," he whispered.

In two corners of the infirmary were now two gigantic fist marks, the only remaining evidence that Asuka and Zion were ever in the room. The first fist mark had torn through 3 walls, sending Zion flying out into the courtyard where he lay nearly unconscious. He had sensed something amiss at the very last minute and raised his other arm to guard and not a moment too soon. The blow had shattered almost all the bones in left arm, causing it to bruise and swell. The impact had also caused his ribs to crack slightly, making breathing a painful task for him at the moment.

The second fist mark tore through the adjacent wall, hurling Asuka out into the guild hall. Luckily for him, the rows of tables and benches had helped cushion the impact but that did not stop him for flying till the end of the guild hall. Asuka initially thought his knowledge of the sinister presence would give him a heads up but something of this scale completely exceeded his expectations. As a result, his ribcage was almost completely crushed and he laid unconscious, the force and pain having effectively knocked him out.

"Go get help," Kane instructed, though Iggie still remained frozen with fear over the horrific turn of events. When Iggie did not respond, Kane yanked him upwards by the collar and yelled in his face. "FIND SOMEONE OR THEY'RE GOING TO DIE!"

That instantly set Iggie's brain cells into overdrive, his body barely keeping up as he ran and tumbled his way out of the infirmary to find any living soul still present in the guild at this late hour that could help Asuka and Zion.

Kane meanwhile had begun examining the fist marks that sent both his guild mates flying. On each one he found traces of magma and shadows respectively, as though they had been hit with the same magic that they were using.

"That's not possible," Kane muttered in fear, his observations confirming what he saw earlier. It was just a split second but he knew what he saw. Something moved from behind Mia, too fast for even the naked eye to catch. He wasn't even sure if it was something or someone, having only seen the slight air distortions which confirmed his suspicions.

Apparently it seemed that Mia also no idea what had happened, her face too contorted in fear and shock as she stared at the two fist marks in the walls. Her hands were desperately clutching her arms, her body shuddering as she began uttering gibberish. Everything had happened too fast and even she was afraid.

"Mia, just what exactly are you," Kane screamed mentally, though the emotions on his face displayed his thoughts clearly.

 **A/N:** _And guess whose back! That's right people! Death Obelisk is nearing the end of his exams and you know what this means? Scarlet Nova will be officially started! To start off, a gentle reminder to all those who have made reservations to send in your OCs latest by 1_ _st_ _December so that I can quickly get down to writing and clearing the introduction chapters. Also, I now have one more slot open as a writer has decided to drop out a reservation. If you are interested, please PM me_ _ **first**_ _and not send in your OC directly. With that out of the way, I hope you guys have enjoyed this chapter of Scarlet Nova after my long 2 months of inactivity and I will see you guys in the next chapter. Ciao!_

 _Death Obelisk out_

 **Credits**

 **MyDearWatson: Aamor Rozenn**

 **KingBishop: Lance Vescovo**

 **Buster Edge: Len Vega**

 **Derekjay2000: Korol Magii**

 **Carnation Cascade: Mia**


	5. Intro Arc 4

**January 6** **th** **, Open field**

"Oh come on. Is that all you got, Vale?" a knight called out to his companion who was currently on one knee a few meters away from him. The knight was currently dressed in what was described as metallic hybrid armor. It had a golden helm that was shaped after a roaring lion, streaks of ornamental silver at its sides. The armor itself looked relatively skin tight, revealing the wearer's athletic build. It also resembled more of a battle dress, having pieces which resembled an upturned collar and a twin tailed coat. Despite so, the relatively sharp chest plate and shoulder armor still confirmed that it was not just a mere piece of clothing.

The other knight across from him was slightly older as hinted from the deeper breaths and tone of voice. His deep ivory eyes were currently staring at the ground as he tried to catch his breath, his thick black hair almost draping the ground before him. Like his companion, this knight was also dressed in a golden and red armor, though it had with it an accompanying red cape, making it look as though he were the commanding officer of the two. To the average Joe, that may have been the case. However for any residents of Valgore, they would know that it was actually the opposite.

"Don't be fooled Raven," Vale breathed as he tried to regain his composure and strength. After a few seconds, he was back up on his feet, though a bit unsteadily. Unlike most mages, Vale had a rather expandable mana source and top that off with its ability to recover, he was more than a match for most mages. The only problem was that his magic consumed a large amount of his reserves each time he used it, leaving him near bone dry and rather defenseless. Although it only takes about a minute for him to be back on his feet and fighting, Raven was currently forcing him near his limits, bringing down his magic within seconds of him using it. As a result, the prolonged battle was causing him to be stressed out.

Beneath his helm, Raven frowned, folding his arms over his chest. He wasn't really sure why Vale wanted to spar with him and Vitra all the time. Maybe it was due to pride or due to stubbornness; though Raven was pretty sure it was a combination of both. Vale had been in the same batch of B class with Vitra and himself when they entered the guild and for those in Scarlet Nova, they knew that all three of them took the A-class exams together as well. However, Vale failed to pass, having fallen defeat at the hands of his two batch mates. Ever since that day, Vale had sworn to redeem himself and prove that he was just as capable as they were.

That's where the funny thing kicks in. While most people would prefer to train themselves and hone their skills, Vale did the exact opposite. Instead he chose to train under the people who beat him, each time coming at them with a different strategy or a different angle. Regardless of what Vale did though, the outcome was still the same, the spar ending with Vale collapsing in defeat.

"This is getting very old now," Raven sighed internally. 250 spars and 250 wins. That's not even counting the 100 he had with Vitra before the Dragscale user decided to skip out on the fighting since he transferred to the Combat Division, leaving Raven in care of Vale. Sure, Vale's attempts were new and refreshing but while he had the spirit and drive to do it, his body just could not keep up with the strain. While a minute did not seem like much, it could easily mean life or death in their field of work.

While Raven was in his musings, Vale had recovered completely and now stood proud and tall once more. "Spiritus Magic: Hyrne, Dernak" Vale commanded silently as golden magic circles appeared at his palms. Golden portals then proceeded to open from beside him and from within them stepped out what mortals would probably identify as angels. They were in fact spiritual warriors, summoned forth using Vale's magic. They were clad in great suits of plate armor colored in bright silver with gold linings and dark hoods that hid their faces. They all sported glowing angelic wings and held shining white broadswords or halberds, standing by for combat at Vale's command.

"Go forth," Vale commanded as he snapped his fingers. With the signal given, the warriors proceeded to take flight, each of them either circling about in the skies or dive-bombing from different directions. This time though, Vale did not stand back and watch. Instead he too, charged headlong with his warriors, his fists and legs glowing with enhancement magic.

Raven raised an eyebrow at the change in attempt. Apparently Vale had thought things through and actually reserved some extra mana in his reserves. There was no doubt that he was learning and improving, but whether it was good enough to beat him was another story. Still, that did not stop Raven from giving his best shot.

"Gravity change," Raven said as he snapped his fingers as well. A bright yellow field instantly erected around the battlefield with him as the epicenter, runes marking the boundaries of the barrier. Within the field, chunks of earth and rocks began to float around as though in outer space, effectively creating a natural barrier for Raven. The same went for the spirit warriors too. The change in gravity caused them to spin about helplessly, their thrusts and stabs at Raven completely missing their marks. The others which remained outside of the field had chosen to hurl their weapons or fire beams of light but they too either had their trajectory changed due to the gravity field or were blocked by the barrier of earth and stone.

Vale had learnt his lesson though, having fought in the gravity field for the longest of times. The instant it was activated, Vale grabbed onto one of the boulders present and allowed it to float freely in the gravity field. Using it as a springboard, Vale leapt and propelled himself from boulder to earth clumps, slowly inching his way closer to Raven where he knew where the weakness of the field lay. Raven had a small boundary around him to prevent himself from floating away and as long as he was within that space, the fight was as good as won.

Raven smirked slightly when he realized what Vale was trying to do. He really deserved his title of Tactician after all. Raven then proceeded to shift the boulders and earth around him, directing them with his fingers and hands. Some of which were directed to smash directly into Vale and stop him whereas the rest were made to shift further away from him to cut off his route. However, both were futile attempts in Vale's eyes. The rocks and earth was no match for his enhanced fists and legs, easily tearing through them like they were wet pieces of tissues. Even if they did come at him from weird or bad angles, Vale still managed to command his spirit warriors to take the blow for him. Unlike Vale, the spirit warriors crumbled under the impact, vanishing into puffs of golden dust.

"You're mine," Vale declared coldly when he spotted an opening between the gap between two boulders. Using a spirit warrior, he had it hurl him straight through the tony gap, barely making it. He then changed his position to that of a kick midflight, aiming straight at Raven's chest. Raven's eyes widened slightly in surprise as he watched Vale make it through, but that didn't stop him from sidestepping to the left. That small movement caused Vale's attack to miss its mark, crashing him into the earth next to Raven and causing a small dirt explosion.

Vale let a small smile appear on his face. His primary objective of getting in close was complete and anything beyond that was just a bonus. Using the dirt cloud as a diversion, he punched straight through it at where he knew he last saw Raven. Raven was not expecting something so accurate and had barely enough time to guard as the punch connected, slightly bending the gauntlet on his right arm. The instant he felt the blow connect, Vale followed up with a leg sweep, hoping to knock Raven off his feet. Unfortunately, Raven anticipated the second attack and quickly leapt upwards out of harm's way. Right where Vale knew he would.

Having taken this into consideration as well, Vale jumped as well and threw a blind punch dead centre. The moment he did so, Raven's body appeared as well and the punch crumpled Raven's chest plate and caused him to be knocked back. Seizing the chance, Vale instantly got behind Raven and using his enhanced strength, held Raven's arms in a deadlock, preventing him from moving.

"Not bad," Raven commended. "But you do know that you aren't going to be beat me like this right."

"No," Vale stated. "This is more than enough."

Before Raven's eyes, the ground around him exploded and from within it crawled out another regiment of spirit warriors. Unlike the earlier batch, these ones were dressed differently, being clothed completely in black shizokus and armed with curved daggers. A quick glance at them revealed a green coating which Raven presumed was some kind of poison. These assassin spirits wasted no time in placing their blades near Raven's throat, inches away from cutting him.

"Yield?" Vale asked silently, having all but assured his victory over the S-class mage. At this point he was pretty sure that Raven could barely move, let alone dare to. There was no way he could beat him now.

"Not bad, Vale. You actually came very close this time," Raven complimented. "But don't get it over your head. A for effort, nothing more." He added a bit seriously.

"Arrive with a flash of thunder, Ornstein!"

As the invocation stated, a huge lightning bolt rained from above and engulfed Raven. The pure energy surge instantly disintegrated the spiritual assassins and the resulting explosion caused Vale to be blasted backwards, crushing a few trees in the process. Vale coughed up some blood as he tried to stand back up, his muscles and organs having given way due to the intensity of the bolt which temporarily fried his nervous system. This was definitely not within his calculations. While it was true that he had forced Raven into a corner, the matter of fact was that he had never seen Raven use anything beside his Gravity magic before. As the saying goes, you always keep your trump cards for last and that was what Raven was doing right now.

When the blinding light and explosion had settled, it revealed Raven holding a lance, fitting his general appearance as a knight. The lance's handle seemed to be made out of what looked like a Dragon's spine, the end of it having a triangular barb. Two ethereal blood red ribbons hung from the pole of the lance, acting as some sort of ornamental design. The blade of the lance was the weirdest part of the weapon though. Half of the blade was actually longer than the other, extending out and covering the front of the pole arm. To finish off, a dragon's skull, rested on the shorter half of the blade.

Although Vale could barely move, he could still command his spirit warriors. Through his mental link, he ordered what was left of them to attack Raven simultaneously from all directions, hoping to at least score at hit.

Unfortunately for Vale, the fight ended as soon as Raven pulled out his ace. Before any of the spirit warriors could move, there was a clap of thunder and Raven was gone. When another thunder roared, Raven had reappeared, the heads of all the spirit warriors lined neatly in a row on the blade of his lance.

"Yield," Raven ordered the tip of his lance now at Vale's throat.

Despite the look of disgruntlement on Vale's face, he knew he had no choice. There was no way he could take on Raven now and was completely at the mercy of the other mage. Unwillingly he nodded his head slightly, having accepted his lost yet again.

"Good choice," Raven smiled as he banished the lance, having it returns to the tattoo state located on his back. Raven then proceeded to remove his helmet, revealing his crimson red eyes and black hair. He extended a hand to Vale who took it begrudgingly, helping the other mage to his feet.

"I won't lose next round," Vale stated flatly and turned to leave, limping slightly as he headed back to the guild.

"Well good luck trying," Raven joked, causing Vale to turn and give a dirty glare before leaving. Truth be told though, Raven was filled with respect for Vale. Though it took him a while, he finally forced him to actually get serious for once. The only others would have probably been Vitra, Aamor and Kozmotis.

"I wonder if he could do the same to Vitra too," Raven smiled as he thought to himself, laying on the grass and imagining a fight between the two.

 **Beyond the Wall, Train headed for Endon, West of Bosco.**

It was a common thing for mages to pick up missions to do every now and then, especially with the rent and food costs rising these few days. Even so, they would not pick any random mission that paid well, but rather something that corresponded to their realm of expertise. Monster taming for the Combat Division, mineral mining or equipment design for Research Department and guard duty for the Guardian Squad. These were more or less the norm mission types that each group was most likely to pick up. Even so, it was not uncommon to see mages picking a job that didn't really suit them, having chosen a partner or friend from a respective group to tag along.

Well, but since a job which involved the inspection of a mysterious Altar did not fit any of their job descriptions, why not bring along a member from each group.

Thus far the train ride was awkward to say at the least. It was not because any of the members hated each other, but rather the lack of a common topic at hand. They had never crossed paths before, courtesy of Scarlet Nova's large number of guild members, let alone work in the same department. As such each member was currently immersed in their own world, completely ignoring the presence of their travelling companions.

The youngest member of the trio was named Hikari Eien and she was currently staring out of the window, a pair of silver headphones over her head as she jammed out to a rock song. She had an average height and build that was being covered by a gothic style dress with lace and ribbons up to her mid thighs. Matching this was black stockings and black boots with heels, as well as her waist long hair that had white highlights. By her side was a black parasol, purposely placed on the seat next to her to avoid any unwanted company.

Seated directly opposite her was another female by the name of Caroline Kamora. Unlike Hikari, Caroline was fast asleep, slouching over the chair with her dark brown hair covering her eyes. She stood at around 5'5, having a medium bust and slim waistline. She was wearing a sleeveless ripped T-shirt and a pair of black arm guards. To finish the set were gray sweats that can be tightened via string along with a pair of laced up high tops. She seemed to be having a good dream though, evident from the trickle of drool leaking from the side of her mouth.

The last mage was currently pouting, her hands beneath her chin as her dark grey eyes gazed about in boredom. This mage's name was Lila Vale and she was the oldest amongst the trio, though her actions hardly justified it. Her hair for one was rainbow colored and pulled into a short ponytail like a typical school girl's. She had a slim model like physique, standing at an even 5'7 with taunt, strong looking muscles. She was currently decked in a white tank top with black arm bands, grey and blue stripped leggings and black combat boots.

"Aaaaaahhhhhh! I can't take this anymore!" Lila exclaimed, waving her arms about frantically and kicking randomly. Being a social butterfly, the silence had finally gotten to her and she did not like it one bit at all.

Her random movements had caught the attention of her two teammates, though not in the way she would have preferred. One of her kicks accidentally hit Hikari in the shins, causing the girl to jump slightly and hiss in annoyance. On the other hand, Caroline had the worst of it, being smacked in the jaw and jolting wide awake.

"Oopsies," Lila smiled when she saw the looks that her two teammates were giving her. "At least I now have your attention. I know we introduced ourselves earlier but I think we should get to know each other better since we have never worked with each other before."

"So what do you suggest?" Caroline's hazel eyes twinkled with excitement despite having just woken up. She was liking where this conversation was going, being a cheerful girl herself.

"Just the basics like your magic and hobbies will be fine," Lila replied, the playful grin still on her face. "I guess I'll go first then. I work in the Guardian Squad and I use Metal Manipulation." As if to prove her point, she gently tapped the arm of the seat, morphing it into a small metallic dove.

"COOL!" Caroline exclaimed, literally raining sparkles all around her. "What else can you do with it!"

"Well, I'm also able to sense and identify any type of metal in the area. This gives me an edge over my opponents as I can use it to harden my body internally or create massive metallic structures."

"That sounds awesome!" Caroline praised, causing Lila to rub the back of her head in embarrassment and smile awkwardly. All Hikari did was just roll her eyes in response, not finding Lila's magic particularly amazing.

"I'll go next then," Caroline chimed, giving a wide grin. "I'm from the Research Department and I use Hardening Magic." Like Lila, she too gave a demonstration of her magic, causing her fist to be coated in a thick layer of black.

"So are you able to harden other things as well?" Lila asked, genuinely curious. It looked like a spin-off from enhancement magic and she wondered if there was a difference between the two.

"Nah," Caroline shook her head. "It only allows me to harden my own body at will. Though I do have an ace that only few in this world possess," With that she then revealed the back of her hand to Lila, causing the girl to squeal in surprise.

"HOLY! You're a Dragscale User!" Lila had her hands to her mouth, staring in awe at the web like tattoo at the back of her left palm. That statement caused Hikari to perk up instantly, sitting upright as she too stared at Caroline's tattoo.

"Uh huh!" Caroline had a proud grin on her face as she showed it off. "There are only seven of these weapons in the entire world and mine controls the power of fire!"

"Wow!" Lila remarked, truly impressed. "Does that mean you're as strong as Vitra, Raven or Kozmotis?" She clearly remembered that of the six S-classes, three of them were also Dragscale Users. Considering that half of the S-class was users, it probably meant that the weapons were truly as powerful as the rumors made them out to be.

"Well of course," Caroline literally beamed rainbows. "After all, only a user has a chance of beating another." As she stated so, her chest was puffed out with pride. While Lila continued to look on in amazement, Hikari just sighed and rolled her eyes once again.

"Say that after you beat them," Hikari muttered under her breath, causing Caroline to pout slightly in annoyance at her being a wet blanket.

"Well why not you share some of your secrets, oh Miss Grumpy," Caroline teased, sticking her tongue out. Lila nodded in agreement as well, her eyes wide with excitement and anticipation.

"Tch," Hikari clicked her tongue in annoyance. If it would get them to shut up for the rest of the ride, it would probably be worth it. "Combat Division, Light Magic, Dragscale User." She explained in as few words as possible, hoping that it would be sufficient.

Unfortunately for her, the last two words had the duo completely entranced.

"HOLY MOLY! YOU'RE A USER TOO?" Lila and Caroline both exclaimed simultaneously, causing Hikari to cringe at their high pitched squeals.

"Where's your tattoo?"

"What element do you use?"

"Are you insanely strong as well?"

"Can it!" Hikari snapped, losing her cool over the flood of questions. Even so, the looks on Lila and Caroline's faces said that they weren't intimidated at all, desperate to get some answers out of her.

"Urrrgggh," Hikari growled, figuring out that there was no way out of this unless she answered them. "Tattoo's on my left wrist and I use the light element."

"Sweet," Lila grinned. "It looks like this mission's going to be a breeze after all since we have to users with us."

"Definitely," Caroline remarked as well. "If we had met earlier, we should have probably picked a harder one. Maybe even an S-class one. After all, between our good looks and abilities, there is no stopping us!"

"Don't be too cocky." Hikari thought to herself, returning back to listening to her music. To her, being a Dragscale user meant nothing. While it was true that it gave them an enormous advantage over other mages, that gap was nothing before an S-class. Having fought Kozmotis in the A-class exams before, she knew best amongst all of them. "Let's just hope that nothing of that caliber appears in this mission."

 **2 hours later**

"Are you sure this is the correct way?" Caroline asked as she observed her surroundings. Based on the images obtained from previous Intel gathering and the map that she was carrying, the scène nary was vastly different.

"Well, we've been following the path stated in the map thus far, so I think we should still be on track." Lila replied, turning her head around. While the map was probably a year old, the fact that the dirt path still existed meant that it was still accurate.

It had been close to an hour since the trio had disembarked from the train station. As the location of the altar was in a remote village, they had no choice but take the rest of the journey on foot through a nearby forest. However due to the confusing way the trees have been arranged, the trio had almost gotten lost a few times.

"Incompetent," Hikari muttered under her breath, though that did not go unnoticed by Caroline who had particularly sharp hearing.

"Well I'm so sorry, Miss-Icey-and-not-helping." She wagged her tongue in front of Hikari's face. "You should not be called Hikari. You should be called Kouri instead, cold and indifferent like a block of ice."

"Why you," Hikari growled in anger, whipping out her parasol. She had just about had it with this cocky bitch and the name-calling was the last straw. Once again, Caroline didn't really seem to care, simply waggling her finger in Hikari's face and going tsk tsk tsk.

"Come on you guys, break up the fun." Lila called from in front of the group. "We're almost there."

"Hai!" Caroline cheered excitedly, skipping ahead to join Lila. Not that Hikari minded being left at the back. If anything, she preferred to be alone.

Within a few minutes, the group arrived at an old dusty sign which read "Welcome to Endon" with the rest of it barely holding up, having been degraded rather badly. Unlike regular villages, this one did not have a village gate, allowing the mages to enter freely as they pleased. That was most probably due to the state that the village was in. It seemed as though the village was trapped in a previous timeline, having only atap houses made of wood and hay roofs. The houses didn't even have proper doors or windows, most of which were almost to the point of collapsing already.

"There's nobody here," Lila remarked, noticing the dead silence in the village. Although the village was tentatively large, they should still be able to hear or see signs of life at the least. If anything, the village was a ghost town and the villagers had all vanished into thin air.

While Caroline and Lila proceeded to look through house to house, Hikari remained standing out in the open. Something did not feel right at all and the presence of the vultures flying overhead confirmed it. Vultures, being scavengers, only existed when there was something dead or dying. Deciding to follow her gut, Hikari decided to follow the vultures instead.

After about 5 minutes of tracking, Hikari arrived at what was described in the mission brief: A Cobblestone Altar. The Altar was relatively small, being only about two floors high and decorated in various runes and hieroglyphs which Hikari could not understand. Hikari did not think much about it at first but when she saw the Vultures landing on top of it, she knew that her hunch was right. Somewhere in this altar, there was the presence of dead and rotting flesh which was drawing all the vultures in. However as far as Hikari could see, the Altar did not have any entrances, being just a fixed stone structure. As she felt around for any entrances, she accidentally pushed one of the hieroglyphs in. The entire altar then proceeded to shake and reconfigure, eventually opening a small door at its side. As soon as the door opened, a pang of nausea and disgust hit Hikari. Whatever was inside the altar, it reeked on blood and corpses. While Hikari contemplated on returning to find Lila and Caroline, she eventually deemed it too much a hassle and entered the altar alone.

"The hell is this," she whispered to herself after descending the stairwell, eventually arriving at a large clearing. It was there did she notice where all the villagers had disappeared to. Young or old and regardless of gender, the villagers were all being forced to carry humps of what looked like decaying meat and buckets of blood. Around their necks were what Hikari recognized as detonation collars and shackles bound their arms and legs. Armed guards in black cloaks were scattered all over the area, some directing orders while other keeping a constant lookout. They were all being transported to what seemed like a gigantic pentagram right in the centre of the clearing. The flesh and blood were then being poured at precise amounts at each corner of the pentagram and each time they did, the pentagram glowed crimson red.

Despite the entire scene before her eyes, Hikari was fixated on what was in the middle of the pentagram. Despite it being highly deformed and pulsating, there was no mistaking it. The way the weapon changed slightly each time the pentagram glowed was just like what the history books said. This was not ordinary ritual. This was one for the creation of Dragscale Weapons!

Unknowingly, Hikari had taken a few steps forwards, accidentally knocking over some rocks and dust in the process. They proceeded to shower over one of the guards who instantly looked up and spotted Hikari. "Intruders!" he yelled, attracting the attention of every guard in the room.

"Shit," Hikari cursed as she noticed all of the guards converging straight towards her. So much for surveillance! Since her cover was blown, she might as well take action. With that in mind, Hikari leapt off the stairwell, delivering a dropkick on top of one of the guards who got too close. As the guard collapsed to the ground, Hikari swung her parasol in a wide arc, releasing a wave of light energy that slammed into the surrounding guards and sent them flying. The guards which avoided the initial attack came charging with lacrima blades, intent on cutting down Hikari.

"Light whip!" Hikari commanded as white whip made of light formed at the tip of her parasol. Spinning it around like a dancer, Hikari struck rapidly at the guards, leaving burns with each hit. Despite some of the guards' efforts to counter with their weapons, the light whip sliced through them like warm butter, rendering the weapons nothing more than metallic slush. The remaining guards decided to back off, huddling together as they got into formation. At the command of one of them, they fired balls of elemental magic at Hikari, hoping to strike from outside her whip's range.

"Naïve," Hikari remarked. Little did they know her expertise was in ranged magic and increasing their distance from her only signed their own death warrants. Opening up the parasol like a shield before her, Hikari charged 9 balls of light, one at each tip of the parasol. "9 Tail Laser!" she commanded, firing off 9 streaks of extremely thin laser beams. Unlike regular beams, these lasers were designed to cleave through magic. They easily cut down the balls of elemental magic way before they reached Hikari, triggering a series of explosions in midair. As the guards hurried to reload, Hikari spun her parasol, causing the laser beams to spin and converge. This time round the beams cut through the guards' weapons and pierced their bodies in various locations. All the guards fell screaming, unable to withstand the excruciating pain or heat.

"Well that takes care of them," Hikari thought to herself as she watched the wounded guards remain incapacitated. Believing that all the guards were defeated, she turned her back for an instant and started walking towards the villagers.

That was a bad mistake. Hikari barely heard a buzzing sound coming from her right and ducked just in time as a chainsaw blade came crashing down. Even so, the blow still sliced cleanly across her right shoulder, causing her to wince in pain as she backpedalled to gain some distance. When she was finally in the clear, she took a good look at her attacker and her eyes widened in shock.

"That's not possible. The weapon should not have been fully developed yet." Before her eyes was a guard and in his hand held the Dragscale weapon that was originally in the pentagram. This time though, the weapon had already started taking shape in the form of a chainsaw. Hikari could barely make out the rows of dragons' teeth that lined the blade made of bone. Apart from that, the rest of the weapon was still a fleshy mess, blood still leaking out of the bone handle.

"Heh, developed or not, this baby is still a hellaluva powerful weapon," the guard grunted, glee written all over his face. "Why don't you stand still and let me cut you down. I promise nothing but pain will be instilled in you."

Before Hikari could respond, the guard had already taken a giant leap forward, bringing the weapon down. Out of reflex, Hikari raised her parasol to guard but before the chainsaw, it was as good as a wet piece of tissue paper. In an instant, the chainsaw almost grinded through half the parasol, causing Hikari to retract it and retreat backwards.

"Damn it," Hikari growled in frustration. The guard was pressuring her so much that she could barely concentrate enough to invoke her own Dragscale Weapon. At this rate she was not going to last long against him. The exchange continued so about a minute or so, with Hikari barely parrying with her parasol and the guard relentlessly bearing down on her. That was when all of a sudden, Hikari fell backwards, having tripped on something.

"Shit!" she yelled internally when she felt the familiar cobblestone steps. She was so intent on blocking his moves that she failed to realize they had almost reached the stairwell. The guard, not wasting a moment, swung his chainsaw hard and all the while cackling away.

"DIE!" he roared with glee.

Too bad for him, Hikari's fate wasn't meant to be just yet.

"Metal Make: Shield!" A voice called out and before Hikari's eyes, a triangular shield made of chrome materialized right in front of her, guarding against the chainsaw.

"What?" the guard spoke flabbergasted at the turn of events. Before he could say another word though, a black fist ploughed at the right side of his head, sending him sprawling into a wall.

"You're late assholes," Hikari scowled though deep inside she was a tiny bit grateful for their timely appearance.

"Thank us later," Caroline grinned as she assumed a battle stance next to Hikari, her arms and legs now coated in Hardening magic. Meanwhile Lila helped Hikari to her feet before taking her place next to Caroline.

"Next time, don't rush off on your own," she chided though Hikari just clicked her tongue in annoyance. Lila was about to carry on when she heard the buzz of the chainsaw once again and decided that they would discuss this at a later time.

"Be careful," Hikari warned. "That guard is using a Dragscale weapon. Most likely forged from a dragon that specializes in hardening magic. It's still developing though so its power has not fully stabilized."

"Meaning if we bust the weapon, we win." Lila concluded, a determined grin on her face.

"And I think we have the perfect weapons for the job." Caroline smirked, raising an eyebrow towards Hikari. Despite the friendly gesture, Hikari acknowledged with a nod of her head. It was payback time.

"Burn to Purgatory, Orochi!"

"Bring Salvation, Tsubasa!"

A circle of fire and light proceeded to surround Caroline and Hikari respectively as their tattoos vanished. When they died down, it revealed the fully invoked weapons of the two mages. Caroline's weapon was a burning whip to say at the least, though there were a few modifications to it. Instead of following regular designs for whips which were to be thin and small, her Dragscale Weapon was made of purely out of dragon's spine, each segment of bone spinning about rapidly as it fused with the flames encircling it. The handle of the whip was also made out of bone, a small dragon's skull separating it from the actual weapon. Hikari's weapon on the other hand was a small handheld fan. Despite being smaller than her companion's, it was just as deadly. The tips of the fan were made out of dragons' claws and they were glowing pure white, the result of immense light energy being concentrated within them. The membrane of the fan consisted of a dragon's skin and the handle of it being a small triangular bone. As Hikari swept the weapon from side to side, arcs of light trailed behind it, an indication that it was far from a tool just for display.

The guard actually gulped when he saw the two weapons, realizing that they definitely outclassed his in both strength and beauty. So that's what a fully developed weapon resembles.

"You could always surrender you know," Lila taunted when she felt the guard's hesitation. "Just drop the weapon and no one gets hurt."

"Screw you!" The guard roared with anger as he blindly charged forward, bringing his weapon to bear. Unfortunately for him, all three mages were waiting prepared for him this round. Before he could even take 5 steps forward, Caroline flicked her wrist gently, causing her whip to crackle and hiss as it came to life. As though moving on its own, it arced and curved about like a snake, causing the guard's eyes to dart around in all directions, unable to determine where it was coming from. In one swift motion, the whip wrapped around his torso and sword arm, the combination of the burning heat and sharp bones tugging at his skin causing the guard to halt his approach.

"He's mine," Hikari declared coldly as she charged off before Lila could stop her. Spinning her fan around her fingertips, Hikari let loose arcs of light magic, directing them all directly at the guard. Unlike her regular light magic which simply exploded, these ones were capable of searing off flesh. With each impact the guard screamed in agony, feeling the scorching heat being engraved onto his skin. He was in so much pain that he dropped the chainsaw, no longer having the strength to wield it. Seeing the opening, Hikari leapt upwards and fired off the dragon claws embedded in her fan. The dragon claws were already sharp, but having been infused with light energy, they were more than capable of melting steel. Having found their target, they easily tore through the centre mass of the chainsaw, causing the weapon to sputter and give out. After which it simply returned to being a pile of flesh, bones and blood, completely useless to anyone.

"Aww man, I didn't even get to fight," Lila whined. She was hoping that the guard would put up more of a fight but then again, he was probably scared stiff knowing he was up against two true Dragscale Users.

"Agreed," Caroline replied. "And here I was, looking forward to my first proper fight against another user." Sensing that the guard had been rendered unconscious, she dispelled her whip, leaving him to crumble to his knees.

Although her face did not show it, Hikari was cursing herself internally. She had been caught off guard, by a grunt nonetheless. Being a Dragscale user herself, nothing was more embarrassing and humiliating than being beaten by a weapon that she specialized in.

"Hey, are you alright?" Lila asked, noticing Hikari was in deep thought.

"I'm fine," Hikari barked coldly, causing Lila to back off a bit. "Let's just help the villagers." With that she turned and headed for them, not even looking back to apologize or thank Lila for saving her earlier.

"What's her deal?" Caroline asked, Lila just shrugging slightly.

"Let's just chalk it off as her having a bad day."

A short while later, Lila managed to use her Metal manipulation to successfully disarm the explosive collars on each villager, removing them from harm's way. However, their reaction was far from what she expected. Instead of jumping for joy and thanking them for saving their lives, there was a deadly silence as the villagers looked about in worry or panic.

"What's the matter?" Caroline asked, concerned about their weird behavior.

"Oh…It's nothing," one of the villagers spoke up. "We're just wondering how to rebuild our houses and carry on with our lives." Upon hearing that, some of the other villagers chimed in as well, agreeing with him.

"Why not we stay back and help you guys out. I mean we have a lot of free time on our hands…" Lila suggested out of free will but she was instantly met with violent protests.

"NO!" almost all of the villagers shouted simultaneously, causing Lila to be taken aback. A split second later, the villagers instantly regretted their outburst, some of them shying away with embarrassed expressions.

"What we meant to say was," another villager tried to explain. "It's getting late and all, so you girls should not hang around much longer. Besides, we don't have enough room for you to stay the night. Temperatures in Bosco tend to drop drastically at night and it would be inhospitable of us if we let our saviors freeze in the open."

"That's true," Caroline drawled. None of them had packed extra clothes, let alone supplies to last the night. They would most definitely freeze if they were to stay over. However, despite the logic behind the villager's words, Caroline still could not shake the feeling that they were still hiding something from them.

"If you insist," Lila sighed. "We'll leave for now but we'll definitely come back again in a few days to help out ok?" All of the villagers nodded eagerly, relieved expressions on their faces.

With that, they escorted the three mages out of the village, bidding them farewell as they returned to the dirt path leading into the forest.

"Are we really leaving them," Hikari asked, speaking on her own initiative for the first time. "They are definitely hiding something."

"Well there's nothing we can do if they aren't going to tell us," Lila replied. "Besides, we are definitely gonna come back in a few days."

"How are you so sure of that," Caroline asked, genuinely curious. What makes her so sure that Master Glaive would let them return?

"That altar we saw," Lila started. "is a form of ancient technology. If I am correct, it is used to stabilize the mana leylines beneath the earth to facilitate the concentration of energies into the Dragscale Weapon. In other words, someone is trying to create more Dragscale weapons and that altar just proves they have the knowledge and technology to do so."

"Oh, I get it." Caroline smiled, smacking her palms together. "Master Glaive will definitely send the Research Department to investigate the altar to find out what kind of technology is being used. We can then use that as an excuse to return to the village to help out."

"Exacta," Lila grinned.

Despite the sound plan, Hikari was still deeply troubled. The way the villagers reacted, it was more like they were being threatened rather than trying to hide a secret. If that was the case, who was holding them hostage and for what purpose? The more she though, the more confused she got.

"Maybe we can ask them properly next time when we return," Hikari thought to herself, determined to get to the bottom of this mystery.

Unfortunately for the three mages, it was the last time they ever saw anyone from the village.

 **Endon Village, Past Midnight**

"So can someone tell me what happened?" A calm voice echoed throughout the inner sanctum of the altar. Despite the tone, no one was at ease. All the villagers were huddled in a corner, desperately pressing their backs against the altar's walls. Some of them were on their knees begging for their lives while others had resorted to closing their eyes and ears, praying to whatever God that they still believe could help them in this situation.

Before them lay the bodies of all twenty guards that were sent to guard the place. Or more precisely, what were originally the twenty guards. Each and every last one of them had been viciously torn apart, their body parts and internal organs strewn all over the altar. The lucky ones suffered a painless death, receiving swift decapitations whereas the rest had become chew toys, tortured till they breathed their last.

Right smack in the middle of them was their murderer, holding up a fallen guard's head and busy wringing the last drops of blood from it. He had spiked white hair that was disheveled. He also had a sharp and angular face with crimson colored eyes with a crazed look in them. As he opened his mouth to savor the blood, it revealed his unnaturally sharp teeth. The red and black trench coat he wore was almost completely dyed crimson, along with his trained and muscular body. The left sleeve of the jacket was ripped off and he wore a single silver arm guard on his right arm. His steel toed combat boots were currently impatiently tapping on a puddle of blood as he awaited an answer, splashing more blood onto his black baggy trousers.

"So?" he repeated, throwing the guard's skull into a corner and savoring the crackling sound it gave as it shattered. "Where is the weapon that was being forged?"

"We…we…we stole it Master Ash." One of the villagers stammered uncontrollably as tears streaked down his face.

"Huh?" Ash growled lowly as he yanked the villager up to his height by the hair. "Could you repeat that statement?"

"He said we stole it!" Another villager yelled. "We were tired of being controlled and oppressed so we hurled the weapon into the ocean. There is no way you can find it now!"

Ash then cocked his head to the side, staring at the other villager with his one good eye. As soon as their gazes met, the villager's anger vanished instantly, replaced with immediate fear as she desperately tried to control the tears that were streaking out of her eyes.

Ash simply sighed, releasing his grip on the first villager who desperately scrambled back to the safety of his friends. He then proceeded to pull out a black lacrima from his pocket and tapped it lightly three times. There was a short silence before a shadow appeared on the lacrima feed.

"Heyo!" Ash greeted, a maniacal grin on his face. "Ash Revontheus of the Checkmate 4 reporting in from Site D. The villagers lied about what happened back here but the point being is that the weapon is gone. It's been disintegrated completely from the looks of it."

There was a long sigh from the person on the other end of the lacrima. "Well that's too bad," a voice crackled, making it hard to determine the age or gender of the speaker. "it was so hard to find a place to establish the Altar and they had been so cooperative thus far. It really is a pity."

"So what do I do with them, Mr Yliaster?" Ash asked, though the look on his face suggested he already knew the answer.

"Bathe the earth in their blood." Came the simple reply before the lacrima deactivated.

"With pleasure," Ash hissed, pleased with the butchering that was to come.

 **A/N:** _And here's another chapter donezo! To give you guys some updates, this fic will be updated about once or twice a week for the time being unless stated otherwise. So do please sit back and enjoy as I make up for the past two months of inactivity. Also, there is still a spot open for Scarlet Nova so don't hesitate to send in an OC. This includes writers who have sent in OCs before already. Another point to note is that Dark Guild OCs has not opened just yet although the last part of this chapter suggests so. Will let you guys know when that happens and I will not be taking any reservations until the Dark Guild has been introduced properly. Until next time folks!_

 _Death Obelisk Out_

 **Credits**

 **SabishiiSekai: Hikari Eien**

 **Captain Lassiter: Caroline Kamora**

 **Princessatj: Lila Vale**

 **XY-Guy: Vale Sitri**

 **RavensWorld: Raven Lucero de Phoenix**


	6. Intro Arc 5

**January 7** **th** **, a particular mage's house.**

"Bam bam bam! Bam bam bam!" the rhythmic hammering continued for a good 10 minutes, resonating throughout the entire apartment which was completely bare. As stated, the lack of objects in the house only made the hammering all the more annoying, especially since said person was seemingly getting more impatient.

"Who could be that so early in the morning," a mage sighed as he opened his eyes from his meditation. Oddly enough he did not have any eyes per se, but yet he could still see just fine and open or close them at will. With a huff, the mage got up from his crossed leg spot, revealing his monstrously tall height of 7ft, though the lack of body size made it seem he would topple if a breeze just happened to blow. His entire body was wrapped in clean bandages, a baggy pair of black ankle length pants and a black vest with green trim being the only things that distinguished him from being a corpse. He instinctively reached for the hood connected to the vest and pulled it up; fiddling with it to make sure it was firmly in place before walking towards the door.

"Yes, yes I'm coming," the mage yawned as he took a few steps towards the door. Just as he was about to reach the doorknob though, a fierce blast of wind erupted from the other end and shattered the entire door into wooden splinters. Just as his appearance suggested, the mage was instantly blown back and pinned to the wall. The mage coughed heavily as he collapsed into a heap, rubbing his "eyes" as he adjusted to the brightness coming in from the doorway.

"You took too long," A figure hissed from the doorway, behind her being two others. This mage was considered short compared to the rest of her companions, standing at 5'9 with an athletic body build. She had long braided hair with her bangs covering her left eye which were generally midnight blue unless exposed to different climates. She was currently dressed in a grey tank top, black cargo pants and a pair of old combats boots. Her arms were covered in white sport's tape and she also sported black fingerless gloves. The early morning sun easily caught the studs on her ears, causing them to glimmer in the morning rays.

"Scar, that's not very nice," another mage chided gently from behind her, causing Scar to click her tongue in annoyance. This mage went by the name Wisteria Wick, though she was better known as Wisty to her friends and often served as the peacekeeper between individuals despite being the youngest. Wisty stood at 5'3" tall with a full figure and wavy emerald hair that fell to her knees. She had sun-kissed skin and doll-like cold gray eyes, along with a round childish face and freckles dusting her cheeks and nose. Currently she was wearing a short orange tunic with dark blue breeches. Accompanying it was a dark blue sash with a green vine design and unlike most people; she preferred to go about barefooted.

"Are you ok, Criss?" The last mage asked gently as he walked into the house and carefully lifted the mummy mage back to his feet.

"Yeah I'm fine Ashar," Criss grinned through his bandages. "I'm a lot sturdier than I look."

"Ok…" Ashar nodded as he backed off slightly, causing Criss to frown slightly, wondering if he did something wrong. Standing at 6'2, Ashar was the second tallest in the group and despite being a male, he had soft almost feminine facial features and a lean body. His bright yellow eyes also seemed to have a dead look in them as well, easily scaring people he has never met before. As a result, he had combed his brown hair down to shield his eyes to a certain extent. He always wore a dark blue loose long sleeved shirt that had unnecessarily large sleeve holes. He also had a pair of purple pants connected to a pair of similarly colored boots making it look like it's all one piece. Around his waist was a cream yellow cloth serving as a make shift belt.

"Anyway, what are you guys doing at my house so early in the morning," Criss asked but when he saw the looks of his guild mates, he realized something was amiss. Scar had her trademark scowl on while Ashar was looking at him disbelief.

"Erm, you were the one who called us to gather at your house at 7am," Wisty spoke up. Criss' eyes turned to dots and it took a long silence before he suddenly clapped his hands together, remembering that he was the one who organized the meeting.

"Oh yeah hahahhaha," Criss laughed nervously as he rubbed the back of his head. "Well come on in then."

With that the trio of mages entered his adobe, though one could hardly call it a home due to the lack of furniture. It looked as though Criss had just moved in yesterday.

"Oh, I do apologize for the lack of stuff though. I don't really need anything at all, save a roof above my head so I didn't buy any furniture."

"Don't you need to sleep? Or eat or drink?" Wisty asked as she glanced around. Not having a table or bookshelf was one thing but there being no toilet or sink was another.

"Let's just say I'm a special exception," Criss laughed as he took a seat in middle of the living room. Although Wisty was curious about the meaning behind that statement, she decided to shelf it for future referencing and not ask any further.

"So Criss? Why the sudden gathering?" Ashar questioned monotonously, his face barely showing any expression. He had come running towards them yesterday out of the blue, as though it was something very important. When they asked what the matter was, he refused to speak of it, saying that details will be revealed the next day.

"Yes, indeed. Why exactly did I summon all of you," Criss joked, pretending that he forgot the reason why. However at the sounds of rushing winds, he instantly snapped back straight, just in time to see a mini cyclone swirling in Scar's hand.

"Get to the point or I level the house," Scar snarled. She hated human interaction as much as anybody loved being stabbed. Although reluctant to spend any more time interacting with the rest of them, she was a tad curious about what Criss wanted to tell them. If it was one more his lame jokes, she swore she would blow his house down.

"Ok ok," Criss smiled awkwardly as he held up his hands in defense. "So I was snooping around the higher levels of the clock tower the other day and I happened to come across a very interesting conversation."

"Go on," Scar prompted. Both Ashar and Wisty were listening intently too, the part of the higher levels of the clock tower grabbing their attention.

"I'm pretty sure I heard Aamor tell Vitra that they needed all S-class mages to partake in a particular examination this year, and that it was high time for Vitra to shape up."

Wisty did not get it immediately at first, still scratching her head as she tried to figure out the significance behind Criss' words. Ashar as well, rocking his head side to side in a daze. Scar on the other hand understood instantly, her eyes brightening up ever so slightly.

"You think that the S-class exams are nearing?"

"Exactly," Criss snapped his fingers in glee, his bandages grinning.

"But Father never says when the S-class exams are. They always change the timing each year so as to prevent any last minute attempts to impress the S-classes or qualify for the exams." Ashar protested. He recalled vividly that last year's exam was in September while the previous year's was in April. There was just no telling when Master Glaive would organize it.

"Father?!" Criss and Scar exclaimed. Master Glaive had children?

"No no no," Wisty raised her hands and waved them, attempting to clear up the misconception. "Ashar has a special relationship with Master Glaive so he usually addresses him by Father. They aren't related by blood in any way." She too recalled herself reacting in the same way initially when she heard how Ashar addressed their Guild Master, though after a long time interacting with him, she understood the symbolism behind that.

"Oh, so that's the case," Criss heaved a sigh of relief while Scar coughed and regained her composure. That would be way too big of a shock if their guild mate was actually the Master's son. "Anyways," Criss continued. "I had my suspicions at first because like what Ashar stated, the exam timing changes each year. But just yesterday, I saw Fate arrive at the train station as I was returning from a mission."

"Fate as in Fate Lindbergh, the S-class mage right?" Wisty enquired and Criss nodded his head.

"Wasn't he on an S-class mission that was supposed to take about a month to finish?" Scar asked, remembering the mage leaving just about 2 weeks ago.

"Either he has finished the mission early or he has been reminded to return by a certain date, though I will not rule out a possibility of both. Fate is one of the more powerful S-classes, probably only second to Aamor. Given his skills, it's possible he could complete the mission in half the time." Criss stated, the other 3 A-class mages nodding their heads in agreement.

"That still doesn't explain why you have called us out here in the first place though," Ashar said. Criss could have easily told them this in the guild, so why all the secrecy?

"Well I was hoping that we could hold special training sessions together and discuss strategies," Criss grinned. "Amongst all the A-classes in the guild, we are the ones more likely to qualify for the S-class exams."

"And what makes you think so," grunted Scar when Criss suddenly flipped open the handful of documents from beneath his bandages.

"When did you…"

"Well I kinda snagged some of them when Aamor was busy reading her love novels. Don't worry though; these are copies of the actual files so nothing's actually missing." Criss smirked as he proceeded to open the files up and began reading out aloud.

"Wisteria Wick. 32 A rank, 56 B rank and 13 C rank missions."

"Ashar Cara. 28 A rank and 78 B rank missions."

"Scar Midnight. 38 A rank, 42 B rank and 21 C rank missions."

"Ever heard of privacy," Scar growled angrily, not liking her personal details being dug up. She was about to lunge at Criss but was held back in time by Ashar and Wisty, causing dark lines to roll down Criss' forehead.

"My bad, my bad," he laughed awkwardly though the scowl on Scar's face still said she was pissed. "In any case, we have the highest number of successful missions among the A-classes so I highly doubt any of us will fail to meet the cut."

"I don't know about that though," Wisty fiddled her thumbs nervously. "Won't they take age and duration of being an A-class into consideration as well?" She had only been an A-class for about 2 years now and compared to the rest in the room, she was the youngest and lacked the most experience.

"Well I personally think Master Glaive does not take age into account that much. I mean, half of the S-class is about your age." Criss casually mentioned. "As for experience, I think your mission record speaks for itself."

"So what's the plan?" Ashar questioned, cocking his head to a side.

"Well, since the S-class exams involve us fighting the S-class, I suggest we come up with strategies on how to actually beat them. I mean, we've worked with the S-classes before in our own divisions right? Hopefully we can compile and analyze their strengths and fighting styles so we can find a way to actually beat them." Criss stated confidently. While Ashar and Wisty nodded their heads in agreement, Scar said nothing. Instead she got up and began to head for the door.

"Come on Scar," Wisty pleaded. "Won't you join us?"

"While I am thankful for the tip and heads up, I will be practicing on my own. I work better without the presence of others." Scar stated flatly, not even bothering to look back as she left the building.

"Well there goes one of us," Ashar sighed sadly. Scar was the closest person they had that could replicate Vitra's wind magic so they would probably have to improvise on that somehow.

"What about you two?" Criss asked, sincerely hoping that they would stay. They were going to need all hands on deck if they wanted to clear the exam.

"Yeah sure why not. If it means becoming S-class, I'm all game for it." Wisty declared, punching the air in excitement.

"Sure thing," Ashar replied. "I want to become S-class too and help Father out."

"Great!" Criss smiled. With their powers combined, they would definitely be able to figure something out!

S-class exams, prepare to have your butt kicked!

 **Meeting Room**

"Well it seems I'm early for once," Glaive remarked as he entered the meeting room. None of his S-classes had arrived yet and usually it was always the other way around. By the time he arrived, all of them would have been seated or the meeting would have been underway already.

"Not that I blame them. I'm the one who is too early." Glaive took a glance at the wall clock. The meeting was supposed to start at 3pm but now it was only 2.30. He was pretty sure that they would all be gathered by 3pm anyways, so there's no harm waiting a while.

Just as Glaive was musing about it, the door creaked open and Aamor stepped in, her hands full of paperwork.

"Master, you're here already?" Aamor gulped in shock. If he's here already, it probably meant that she was late!

"Relax Aamor. I just happened to finish my work early so I came ahead of time. There is no cause for alarm." Glaive reassure her with a warm smile, causing Aamor to heave a sigh of relief. With that she took her seat to his right, carefully distributing the files to each of the remaining 5 seats for the rest of the members.

"By the way," Glaive enquired. "You do know that Criss was here the other day right, unauthorized?" Aamor nodded her head slightly as she heated the kettle of tea at the stove, pouring it gently into oriental tea cups before placing it at the table.

"He still has a long way to go before he can sneak up on me," Aamor smiled gently. "Even if I cannot see him, I can most definitely sense his presence. I'm pretty sure even Vitra could tell he was eavesdropping from outside the room."

That got Glaive into a small laugh. As expected of his best S-class. Nothing escapes her nose and instincts. Criss was a strong mage in his own right as well though he was more of a rough gem that required polishing. Since it was only a matter of time, Glaive decided to let the matter slide for once, taking Criss off the hook.

Speaking of Vitra though, Glaive's eyes furrowed slightly. Vitra was a very capable S-class without a doubt though his tendency to take things likely could prove to be very costly. Glaive had seen him showing biasness to younger members as well as his own division, going so far as to let them boss him around or do what they please. While that made him friendly and a good listening ear, it also tended to cloud his judgment at times. Glaive was tempted to force him to step down but when he recalled the young boy who trained like his life depended on it to reach S-class; he just could not bring himself to do it. Personally though, Glaive loved his carefree and lax attitude compared to the merciless and brutal personality he had when he first joined but that was another matter all together and the two should not be mixed.

Speaking of Vitra, the door creaked open and the lanky mage stepped in. The first thing that Glaive realized was that he was not wearing his cloak or shirt. That and the added fact that he was covered in scorch marks and sweating profusely. Behind him was Raven who was also not wearing his shirt, his body swathed in cuts and bruises.

"Oh my," Aamor exclaimed in shock. "Did you two get into a fight or something?" Within seconds she was all over them, checking for any serious harm or injuries. Luckily though, neither of them had sustained any fatal ones, most of them being just superficial.

'Nah, we were just sparring Roz," Raven chuckled as he tried to allay a panicking Aamor. "Though I have to say I'm surprised. For the first time in 4 years this lazy ass actually asked me out for a duel."

"Well a certain someone told me it was high time to get serious, so I decided to go back to our old training days." Vitra grinned, winking slightly as Aamor who sighed happily, glad that the boy had decided to take her advice.

Just as the duo got settled down, Zion entered the room. Despite the swathes of bandages around his ribcage and his left arm in a cast, he still retained his big goofy grin. "Yo guys! Great to see yall!" he laughed happily. He then proceeded to take his seat next to Vitra, wincing slightly as he sat down.

"Feeling better man," Vitra asked concerned. While it was terrifying that someone almost beat him unconscious, it was more shocking that Zion was hardly able to defend himself. A heavily muscled man like him should have been able to tank almost anything and yet here he was badly injured by some unknown force.

"Yeah, I'll be better in a few days I guess." Zion replied, still smiling. "Thank God the exam isn't tomorrow or else there's no way I'll be taking part in it." Internally though, Zion felt slightly hurt. His pride as an S-class had just been dented, by a young girl nonetheless. It just went to show that he needed more training. Being S-class was definitely not the end of the journey for a mage.

"Rest well then," Raven chipped in his two cents worth. "Let Vitra take over the Combat Division's training for now." Vitra grinned in agreement, patting Zion lightly on the back. Zion simply nodded his head in thanks, grateful for the timely assistance while he healed.

Kozmotis then came in next. Unlike the rest of the S-classes present, he had a rather emotionless expression. He simply bowed in greetings to Glaive before seating down, nodding his head in acknowledgement to the rest of his colleagues present.

"Shall we begin," he suggested dryly, stifling a yawn as he did. "I would prefer to get some extra rest before my shift begins."

"But Fate isn't here yet," Aamor protested. While she understood that being in the Guardian Squad was particularly taxing on the body due to the unnaturally long work hours, she still did not find it right to start the meeting without all of them present.

"Relax Kozmotis," Zion said. "Fate will be here on time, I promise."

Kozmotis was about to rebut about it not being a matter of punctuality when the door swung open, revealing the last member of the S-class. Fate had an athletic build, having slight muscles that blended well with his height of 5'10". He had shiny royal purple hair that was pulled all to the right side of his head that had an unkempt appearance. A part of it was being tied by a red bead with more hair hanging which made it fall pass his shoulder to his chest. Despite his sharp irises and large eyes, he had rather feminine eyebrows, giving others the look of a pretty boy. He was wearing a black hoodie that stayed down and unzipped with the left sleeve torn off to give it a tattered appearance, while the sleeve on his right hand fell down to his palm, white bandage wrapped around the bicep. Under the hoodie, he wore a short sleeved white T-shirt that appears to be shorter than the hoodie, just falling over the button over his black slacks. There was also a necklace around his neck with a pendant of the Yin and Yang symbol.

"Sorry for being the last to arrive," Fate apologized. "I woke up later than I expected since I rushed to finish the mission just yesterday."

"Nah no biggie," Vitra grinned, having gotten used to Fate's tendency to be just on time. "How did the mission go anyways?"

"Well, it was much smoother than expected." Fate remarked, a gentle smile on his face. "While it did take a good week of tracking, the undead legion was not as tough as the request suggested. I guess I took only about three days to clear them out. The rest of the time was spent helping the villagers rebuild their village."

That got Raven into a laugh. "You know, if I was any other mage, I would have thought you were just being sarcastic and boasting," he chuckled, "But then again, knowing that it's you who did the mission, I'm definitely not surprised."

"You flatter me," Fate bowed slightly, accepting Raven's praise as it was.

"Alright then," Glaive interrupted, signaling for the rest of the S-class mages to cease the small talk. "Since all of us are here, I suggest we get this meeting underway."

With a small cough, Glaive flipped open his stack of documents and began his debrief. "Today's meeting has two objectives. The first being the main reason I summoned all of you back from your departments and missions. I'm thankful that all of us made it this time and I cannot stress my happiness that each and every one of you is safe and sound. As you all know, the S-class exams take place at a different month each year. The reason behind it is to ensure fair play amongst the mages and prevent any last minute jobs to hit the minimum criteria which could potentially jeopardize their quality. I have decided that this year's examination will be held next month but there will be a twist to it. I have decided to open it to not only A-class mages but also those belonging to the B and C-classes as well."

Glaive stood to his feet and began walking around the room as he continued the discussion. "You may ask why the sudden change in criteria. Personally, I do not believe in where one starts but rather the effort put in to reach and attain the end goal. After reading some of the mission reports, I have deemed certain mages capable and worthy of participating in this year's S-class exam. They have not only shown to be well liked and respected by their peers but also received many positive comments by their clients. Although arguably an A-class mission cannot be compared to a C-class mission, what matters is the amount of effort put in to completing it. In that sense, even a stellar C-class mission can outshine a poorly done A-class mission."

While initially there were small murmurs amongst them, Glaive's last sentence effectively silenced them. His words rang true and home to each and every one of them. Each S-class probably knew of one or two mages that deserved much better than their current rank, having fallen to the unfortunate circumstances of facing them in combat or failed to meet the cut for that particular year.

"So unlike previous years, we will not be holding the voting system for the mages of your choice. Although I will take into consideration the recommendations you guys have mentioned, the final decision lies with me ultimately. All of you will be expected to partake as examiners this time due to the larger number of candidates so I expect all of you to abide by the same time restriction as the candidates and be punctual at the venue. Do be reminded that you are not allowed to reveal any details of the examination to them nor give special treatment throughout the course of the exam." Glaive concluded and turned to look at his S-classes. All of them gave him some form of acknowledgement, be it a thumbs up, a nod or a smile.

Having received their responses, Glaive decided to move on to the second thing on the agenda. "A few days ago, the Guardian Squad saved a particular young girl who was being chased along the borders of Bosco. According to the report written by them, she seemed to possess magical powers way beyond our comprehension, having the ability to badly injure an A and S-class mage without so much as having to lift a finger. While I do commend the mages for coming forth and intervening to save the girl, the problem lies with the fact that she belongs to the Yliaster family, one of the eight noble families ruling Bosco. They have power and authority over the magic council there and if they so much as will it, they could blow this matter up as an estrangement of diplomatic ties. When that happens, there will be dire consequences which extend beyond the control of Scarlet Nova."

"But they don't know that we have her," Kozmotis spoke up. "Iggie made sure of that, making all the men pursuing her suffer from extreme nightmares. Everything that happened that night will all seem like a dream to them."

"That's not the point Kozmotis," Glaive replied. "How long can we keep this fact covered up? It is only a matter of time when they start to realize that our mages are behind the rescue and start to demand for her return."

"Master, based on my initial assessment, the girl looks like she had been badly mistreated over there," Zion protested, slamming his right palm onto the table. "The way she spoke and reacted showed nothing but agony and fear of them. We can't just leave her as it is and return her to them! What if they continue to abuse her? They would definitely punish her severely for attempting to escape!"

"I understand your point Zion," Glaive said. "But our ties with Yliaster family are bad enough as they are currently. Knowing them, they would blow make a mountain out of an anthill and then the blame would fall to us. While I do pity and sympathize with girl's predicament, there really is nothing we can do if they do request for us to return her."

Zion fell silent as well, his eyes looking downcast. He knew Master Glaive was probably tearing up internally as well, being unable to save the young girl from her fate. He just simply could not risk an invasion from the Bosco military over a minor dispute. Millions of lives would be at stake and any lost would be Scarlet Nova's eternal burden to carry.

"Where is the girl now," Glaive questioned.

"She's currently staying with Kane. She seems to have taken a liking to him and refuses to leave his side." Aamor stated, remembering how she was clinging onto Kane's arm like her life depended on it.

After a momentarily pause, Glaive finally sighed as he arrived at his decision. "For now the girl can continue remaining in the care of Kane. When the exams do take place next month, we will bring her along with us. That way, if the Yliaster Family does come knocking, she will not be physically present at the guild. That could buy us some time while I discuss the terms and conditions with the Bosco Magic Council. If we are lucky, we may be able to buy that girl her freedom."

That brought a sigh of relief to all the mages present, thankful that Glaive was not going to give her up so easily. However for Glaive, the cogwheels in his head had already started spinning. While it was true that the Yliaster family owned slaves and had their own private military, there simply was no reason for them to activate it to reclaim an escaped slave. They were into politics, not mage guilds. So what was the point in even keeping magical personnel to begin with? Something was not adding up but as of now Glaive did not have all the pieces of the puzzle to see the full picture.

Then there were the large fist craters that the girl produced which mortally wounded Zion and Asuka. Unknownst to any of the S-class mages, Glaive had personally investigated the damage done. The invisible figure Kane thought he saw coupled with the brutal and monstrous strength all pointed to one thing and it set off alarm bells in Glaive's head. Though almost near impossible, there was a modicum of a chance that she had the same magic as he did. If that truly was the case, things were going to be very complicated from here out.

"Yliaster Family," Glaive thought to himself. "Just what exactly are you guys scheming."

 **Location Unknown**

"Scarlet Nova, Scarlet Nova, Scarlet Nova…" a man muttered over and over. With each repetition the veins on his head seemed to bulge and the rage on his face grew. This continued on for a good minute or so before the man swept everything off his desk in blind fury, hurling vile expletives in the air.

"FLITHY TRASH OF A GUILD! HOW DARE THEY OPPOSE ME!" he hollered his lungs out, though there was hardly anyone present to listen to his ranting. He was currently in the Family's private library, located deep underground in a place only known to two members.

Joseph Wales Yliaster was a portly man whose pompousness can be gleamed from a single look at his expression. He had matted golden hair and equally golden eyes, all of which matched his white and golden military uniform that was adorned with gold plated brass buttons. Even his shoes were dipped in gold, a testament to the family's extreme amount of wealth.

"Now now, don't get mad. It's not good for your health, especially with your size." A voice cackled causing Joseph to look up. A quick glance indicated that the voice belonged to Ash who was currently sitting in a bookshelf and pouring over the contents of a book.

"HOW CAN I NOT BE MAD!" Joseph yelled back. "THEY ARE GOING TO SET BACK THE PLAN BY A FEW MONTHS AND WE CANNOT AFFORD THAT!"

"Aww come on, it's not all bad," Ash laughed as he leapt from one bookshelf to another, hanging upside down as he continued to read. "You've already gotten rid of two families didn't you? That should be more than sufficient to keep you in the lead for the rest of the race."

"I desire nothing but complete victory." Joseph growled. "Even if so much as an ant stands in my path, I will squash it with all the force I have. That's why I hired you guys in the first place."

"Not that I'm complaining about it," Ash smirked as he back flipped from the top of the bookshelf, landing perfectly in a seating position on top of Joseph's desk, startling him. "I get to kill lots of people so it's been nothing but a joy ride for me thus far. Our Master also appreciates your kind donations and would like to continue this partnership for as long as possible."

"Then why aren't you retrieving her!" Joseph hissed angrily. "You have an idea where she is and you know how important she is to me! She is the linchpin for this operation and we cannot afford to lose her."

"And officially declare war on Fiore?" Ash questioned, causing Joseph to fall silent. "4 months before the Bosco Elections and you intend to destroy the harmony between two countries. I wonder what the elders in the council will think about that." Ash smirked as he taunted, knowing very well his hands were tied.

"Is there anything we can do?" Joseph uttered silently, a slight wave of despair washing over him. That girl was the only successful transplant subject amongst thousands. Even though he had the knowledge to do so again, taming and capturing THAT THING was simply out of the question. He had lost too many men to count and even with the aid of the mercenaries he hired; it took a long year to contain it. The financial burden would be too heavy to carry at this point and with the elections around the corner, there was not enough time.

"There is a way," Ash stated, casting a ray of light over Joseph.

"I have received reliable intel that in about a month's time, Scarlet Nova is going to hold their annual S-class examinations. When that happens, they would be going to the examination venue…"

"So that's when we storm their base and retrieve her?!" Joseph exclaimed halfway, cutting Ash off.

"Boooooooo!" Ash pouted, holding up to fingers in a cross in front of Joseph's face. "Dead wrong you are. I'm assuming by now they have figured out that the girl has enormous magic powers which are also extremely volatile. If my hunch is right, the master will opt to bring her to the island with them. When that happens, we will raid the island and reclaim her. It's out in international waters anyway, so there's no tracing back to you. That way, not only can get back your girl but also continue to maintain your disgusting façade of being the council's lapdog."

Initially, Joseph was all smiles, the plan making a lot of logical sense. Then all of a sudden, his smile dropped instantly, having realized what a major problem was. "S-CLASS EXAMS!?" he shrieked. "HOW ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE HER WHEN YOU HAVE TO FIGHT NOT ONLY S-CLASS MAGES BUT ALSO THEIR POTENTIALS" This plan was purely suicidal. A horde of B or C-class mages he could understand but A and S-classes? No way. His military forces would hardly even last 5 minutes.

That got Ash into a laughing fit once more, watching Joseph's pained and hopeless face. "Have you forgotten who you hired?" he made out in between laughs. "While it may be true that we need a little reinforcements but don't forget, our Master spoke highly of our abilities so don't go underestimating us."

Seeing Joseph's silent expression, Ash continued. "All I need you to do now is to focus on maintaining the last 3 sites. The other members of the Checkmate 4 need those weapons more than I do. I never really liked mine and even worse is its ability being a poor match up to mine. In a month's time, just sit back and relax while we do the dirty work for you." With that, Ash got up from his seat and proceeded to head back to the entrance, eager for a breath of fresh air after being cooped underground for nearly three hours.

"And how would you know to get there?" Joseph asked.

"Let's just call it a bad memory," Ash cackled as he shaft tilted his head, removing the eye patch on his right eye in the process.

Right there, despite the scar torn tissue, the faint markings of the Scarlet Nova logo still remained.

 **A/N:** _And this concludes the final intro chapter for this story! For the writers whose OCs have yet to appear, don't worry. I haven't forgotten about them. I still have about 3 of them to be introduced which will be done next chapter. Expected release will probably be next Tuesday, assuming I don't spend any longer than that on a road trip XD_

 _Also, as this chapter suggests, the first arc this time will be the S-class examinations! Please don't message or review asking for your OC to be selected for or attain the S-class. While I did mention I'll be taking from the B and C-classes as well, those that just joined or has only been around a year or so is out of the question. Also, matchups and wins/losses will be decided using a random number generator so as to ensure fairness._

 _Lastly, Dark Guild OC submissions are officially open though this time I am only taking 6 members, 3 belonging to the Checkmate 4 and 3 regular members. Checkmate 4 submissions are to include a Dragscale weapon. Please do not use the following elements for the weapon: Fire, Wind, Dark, Light, Ice, Void and Thunder. Also, your OC will not be joining the ranks of Scarlet Nova so please don't send in applications asking for them to. None of them should have a history with any guild member or Scarlet Nova either. The form will be located at the bottom of this chapter._

 _Thanks again everyone. Remember to favorite and review!_

 _Death Obelisk out_

 **Credits**

 **Origm2012: Criss Bol**

 **Oleanderbleedingheart: Scar Midnight**

 **Reven228: Ashar Cara**

 **The Fallen Magelet: Wisteria "Wisty" Wick**

 **Egotistical psycho: Fate Lindbergh**

 **Dark Guild Submissions**

 **Name:**

 **Nickname or Alias:**

 **Regular Member or Checkmate 4:**

 **Appearance:**

 **History (optional):**

 **Guild mark location:**

 **Magic (no enhancement or slayers please) and spells:**

 **Strengths:**

 **Weakness:**

 **Outcome (death or capture):**

 ***Fill this only if applying for Checkmate 4**

 **Name of Dragscale weapon:**

 **Attribute Magic:**

 **Spells:**


	7. The Announcement

**January 8** **th** **, Guild Hall**

It was late morning in Valgore and unlike most days, the guild was rather quiet. Most members were absent, having taken the day off or so to do their own stuff since it was the weekend and all. Only a handful of them remained, either engrossed in their own activities or having just returned from missions.

Iggie and Asuka were currently sprawled over one of the tables, taking a short nap after a long night of patrol duty. While Asuka had his eyes closed and shielded with a eye mask, Iggie was openly snoring away, little snort bubble growing from his nose. Despite the noise, Asuka was still soundly asleep, the night taking its toll on him.

Trevor and Len were currently in the midst of a game of darts, standing at the far corner of the guild. Since both of them specialised in long ranged combat, the duo decided to have a match to see who had superior aim however thus far, the match had been a draw. Each of them matched point for point, not giving an inch to their opponent.

Criss, Vento, Korol and another young mage were currently in the midst of a game of cheat. He went by the name of Silver Soul and was considered one of the youngest guild members around. He had short messy brown hair with some of it almost covering both of his yellow coloured eyes. He had light skin, standing at 5'7 and had a skinny but a bit of an athletic frame. He was currently dressed in a sleeved white hooded cloak with a brown leather book strap around him to carry his books. Underneath his cloak he was a plain short sleeve black shirt and a pair of blue pants.

"Two threes," Criss called out confidently as he passed on the baton to Silver who was looking at him with uncertainty. He had another three in his hand but he did not want to risk the chance. The deck of cards was currently piling up and it would be a hassle to clear them if he got it wrong.

"Errr…another three," Silver said quietly as he threw down his next card.

"CHEAT!" Vento hollered with excitement, thinking he finally found a loophole. However, the big smile on his face instantly vanished as Silver revealed the top card to actually be a three. The other two cards below though were a six and an ace.

"Aish," Korol sighed in resentment. This was a never ending cycle thus far. Criss cheats, Silver plays fair and Vento calling out wrongly. At this rate he was never going to earn any money to meet this month's rental.

"Easy money, easy game." Criss hummed as he swept the stack of cards to Vento and grabbed the wads of cash from the other players. While he had no use for the money, it didn't hurt to actually save did it. That's why they had banks or something like that right. He was just following the world's current trends. "Another game," he suggested.

Korol nodded begrudgingly and Silver followed suit, simply just happy that he had some company. Vento on the other hand was out of options. He had lost all his lunch money and given the low number of missions he takes each month; he would just barely scrape by. Fishing from all over his body, he dug out what few coins and crumpled notes he had left, praying fervently that he would go big this round.

At another end of the guild, Hikari was alone and playing the harp. She preferred days like these over others, when the guild was mostly quiet and she could enjoy her music. Unknown to her though, Scar sat on the balcony above her, playing the violin in tune to her. Though she would never admit it, Scar thought that Hikari was playing decently and decided to be and accompaniment to her movement.

Lance and Blitz were in the middle of the guild, discussing their findings over the energy shield the other day. While Lance deemed it as a dangerous and volatile experiment, Blitz saw the innate potential within it. While it was true that the shield could only hold so much damage, it was still a valuable resource in buying time to escape.

"We're home!" a mage cheered as she entered the guild doors. She had silky and wavy lavender hair, with the tips of her hair brushing against the end of her ribcage. It was typically tied into a simple but neat half up crown braid, framing her heart shaped face quite neatly and highlighting her pretty round shaped sapphire blue eyes. She stood at 5'4 having a thin hour glass figure and a decent bust size. Her hair, eyes and milky white complexion were also complemented by her regular outfit, which consisted of a white blouse, pastel purple skirt, white stockings, and white knee high boots with a matching pastel purple short tie and French beret. Despite her friendly cheer, no one really responded to it, causing the mage's smile to fall slightly.

"Told ya no one would care Yuuna." Her companion berated, causing the girl's eyes to fall downcast. She was 5'8 with a light-tanned creamy complexion. She had long athletic legs, delicate but strong shoulders and an hourglass figure with D-Cup sized bust. Her golden nose stud caught the morning sun's rays, causing it to sparkle. He jet black hair was tied into a ponytail, obscuring the black rose tattoo on her shoulder like how her bangs covered the right side of her face. She wore a plain red tank top under a black mini-leather jacket. The jacket had golden studs running vertical down the sleeves ending at the elbows and golden chains placed in zig-zags on the back. Her black jeans were ripped and she also wore black biker boots. As for her accessories, they consisted of a golden studded red belt with a black small card-holder attached to it, red fingerless gloves and a golden chained necklace with a rose-shaped ruby charm.

"But Grace," Yuuna whined slightly, "I was just trying to showcase my emotions. Besides, usually people would return with a smile or two so I though the same would happen since we have less people today."

"You're just being naïve," Grace mumbled under her breath, trying her best not to upset the girl even further. She did not know why, but she seemed to have a soft spot for Yuuna, giving in to her demands periodically and going as far as not to be blunt to her.

Taking a seat near the bar, the duo was about to order a drink when Grace heard something, raising her hand to signal the bartender to put that on hold. Leaping off her seat, she made a beeline for where Hikari was playing.

"Hey," she barked, "You played the last few notes wrong." Hikari tilted her head up so that one narrowed eye could be seen, the light of the guild catching her glare and making her eye flash. "I did not." She stated flatly, though the look her face gave said anything but calm and composure.

"You did," Grace retorted, not liking her opinion being challenged. "If you can't accept the fact that you made a mistake, maybe you should stop playing at all."

"And who are you to judge," Hikari hissed, dropping her harp and standing head to head with Grace, her eyes fuelled with anger. "A non-musician like you has no right to say anything."

"Oh you wanna go," Grace challenged, propping a leg up on the table next to her. Unknowingly, she accidentally knocked over the harp Hikari was playing, causing it to clatter to the ground.

That very instant, Hikari's anger boiled over and before Grace could react, she delivered a sharp axe kick to the taller woman's neck, sending her crashing into a few benches. "How dare you!" she snarled. That harp was the last present her brother gave her and yet she treated it like it was just trash. Absolutely unforgiveable!

"If that's how you want to play it, fine by me!" Grace roared in anger, a silver card materialising in her hand as she manifested her magic. Throwing the card into the air, she called out "I call upon in the World of Mythica. Open Legendarium Gate of the one-eyed Giant! Cyclops!" There was the shimmer of silver dust as a gigantic man with one red-coloured eye materialised in the centre of the guild, his head nearly brushing the ceiling.

"HOLY SHIT!" Iggie yelled as he quickly dragged Asuka off the table they were on, just in time before the giant smashed it into wooden splinters with a kick of his foot.

"That's so awesome!" Vento cheered blissfully, though the rest of the guild didn't seem very happy that a fight was breaking out.

"Please don't destroy anything," Criss prayed. The last thing the Combat Division needed was a wrecked guild hall to add to their pile of debts.

"Crush her," Grace commanded from atop the cyclops' shoulders. With a deafening roar, the cyclops brought his fist down, fully intending on squashing Hikari like a bug.

"I don't think so," Hikari replied, nimbly tucked and rolling between the cyclops' legs. The punch went wild, missing its target and splintering another couple of benches. The cyclops growled in anger, swinging its fists wildly as it tried to locate Hikari. Unfortunately, one of them just had to target Scar who had been sitting out the fight thus far.

Just as the fist crashed into the balcony, Scar instinctively leaped into the air and landed along the cyclops' arm. She then made a beeline for his head, running along the tough creases of his skin. The cyclops seemed to have noticed her, firing off a huge crimson laser from his eye as he tried to eliminate Scar.

"Pathetic," Scar whispered as black winds twirled around her arms. Slamming them together, Scar called out the name of her spell. "Black Storm!" A whirlwind the shape of a drill manifested before her, easily spearing through the cyclops' laser beam. The cyclops only managed a grunt of surprise before the whirlwind blew his brains inside out, tearing his entire head off.

"Cyclops!" Grace yelled as she watched her companion disperse into silver dust. Before she could react though, Scar was on her like white on rice, using a wind enhanced fist to punch her straight into her gut, sending Grace sprawling into Blitz and Lance's table.

"Dammit," Blitz hissed as he panicked catching Grace bridal style. They then exchanged awkward glances before Grace punched him in the chin, forcing him to drop her. Blitz then pulled out from his pocket a handful lacrima bombs. After setting the charges and explosion radius, he hurled the whole lot at Scar. However, Scar simply expanded the wind around her arms into a shield. The bombs safely bounced off the shield, deflecting themselves to the table with the card players. All members' eyes literally popped out as they scrambled for cover, and not a moment too soon as the table exploded into a million splinters. Along with all the money that was on it.

"Oh for fuck sake!" Korol exploded. Losing it to Criss was one thing but having it burn into ash was another. He then focused his magic into his hand, forging a blade of arcane and leapt towards Lance who had just recovered from his ears ringing.

"You got the wrong dude man!" Lance replied, focusing his magic into his palms as he caught Korol's arcane blade. However, Korol was not having any of that, still bringing the blade closer and closer to Lance's face. "Well you're at the same table as him. So you are equally at fault." He hissed, though black lines trickled down Lance's forehead as he heard the reasoning.

"How about you cool your head a bit," Lance replied, his stomach swelling with divine energy. Korol only noticed the changes too late when he saw Lance's cheeks growing. Before he could retreat, Lance called out. "Divine God's Voice!" A large ray of light erupted from his mouth, blasting Korol point blank in the face and sending him flying. He then hit a pillar and coughed slightly, falling limply to the ground unconscious.

"Oooo….Pretty," Vento drawled as he saw the ray of light. Closing his right eye, he focused the rest of his vision on the left, a magic circle forming in front of it. Numbers then danced before his eyes as the name of the spell came to him. Like Lance, he took in a deep breath and exhaled, firing off a similar ray of light.

Unfortunately, unlike Lance, Vento could not alter the course of his attack. Initially he had it aimed at Blitz but instead it flew towards Hikari who was taking cover behind an overturned table. Hikari heard the attack long before she saw it and held a hand out, stopping the beam dead in its tracks. The beam then condensed itself into a small ball which she hurled blindly. There was a resounding explosion though the lack of shouts or screams indicated that no one got hurt.

Meanwhile, Yuuna, Silver, Iggie and Asuka had all taken cover behind the bar amidst the chaos. "Why aren't you participating?" Silver asked blindly, not sure who he was referring to.

"I don't want anyone to get hurt…" Yuuna whimpered as she covered her ears over the explosions. She did not like fighting at all, preferring to talk things out more peacefully.

"Too bright, can't see." Iggie replied, raising his voice slightly so he could be heard. While he was always in for a good fight, he preferred it when the circumstances were in his favour. Asuka nodded in agreement. He was already badly injured so the last thing he needed was even more injuries.

"You started this," Hikari hissed swinging her parasol in a wide arc as she ran for Grace. Dodging the initially blow, Grace unlimbered the black katana to her left, bringing it to bear. With a swift strike she slashed across the parasol, grinding the blade against it in hopes of shattering it.

"Blame your lack of musical sense," she retorted and suddenly release her pressure on the katana. Not expecting that, Hikari stumbled forward and Grace took the opportunity to kick her in the gut. Hikari coughed slightly though that did not buy her any respite as Grace followed up with a roundhouse kick that sent her flying towards Trevor and Len.

Before Grace could give chase, a pair of strong arms seemingly materialized from beneath her own, holding her in a locked position. Grace struggled to free herself but they held fast, preventing her from breaking away. "Knock it off," Criss growled as he tightened his grip, forcing Grace to wince in pain and drop her katana.

"Oh a fight?" Trevor grinned, having completely ignored everything up till the point of Hikari landing flat in front of him. "I love fights!" he hollered with glee, the tattoos on his palms coming to life. There was a sudden plunge in temperature as he brought forth Korii, charging up his mana into the barrels of the twin revolvers.

"GLACIER AGE!" he roared with laughter as he fired both shots into the ground. A tsunami of ice ensued, flooding over the entire guild hall and freezing anything that it came into contact with. Amongst all of the combatants, only Scar and Criss noticed the attack and leapt to safety on the second floor. The rest of the guild could only watch with gaping eyes as the wave of ice engulfed them, freezing all of them solid.

"Now let's heat you guys up shall we," Len grinned, following Trevor's lead. Concentrating magic into all parts of his body, he underwent multiple transformations. His arms changed into bazookas and a cannon popped out from the centre of his mouth. His chest also proceeded to open up revealing an armoury of chain guns and missile launchers within it.

"Oh shit…" was the only thing passing through all the mages minds at that point in time.

"End of the World!" Len cackled as he let loose, firing wildly rounds after rounds of heavy explosives and magic bullets. The frozen mages could only watch in fear as the rounds imploded onto the ice, causing a massive explosion of flames. The ensuing shockwave shattered the ice completely, sending all the mages flying through walls or windows.

"HAHAHAHAHHA! WE ROCK!" Trevor and Len gloated as they did a victory pose. Though that was hardly anything worth celebrating for. For one the entire guild hall was in shambles, the centre charred black from the explosion and literally every chair and table had been turned to ash. For another, no one shared their excited sentiments, having been beaten black and blue. The only place literally left standing was the bar which had a veil of darkness covering it.

"You maniacs," Asuka muttered as he dispelled his magic and took a good look around the guild. Beside him Yuuna, Iggie and Silver popped their heads out, their mouths agape as they observed the carnage incurred.

"If Master Glaive doesn't flip when he sees this, count our lucky stars," Iggie hissed in shock, Silver and Yuuna nodding their heads in agreement. This would take literally forever to repair.

"Alright! Whose up from round two?" Len declared eagerly, seemingly unexhausted despite the overwhelming barrage earlier. Before anyone could answer, all of them began floating into the air. It was as though the entire guild hall was in zero-g conditions and without anything to grab a foothold of, the mages began to spin about wildly.

"The hell happened here," Kane demanded as he stepped into the now barren guild hall, glancing at the disarray it was in. While one of his hands was filled with groceries, the other was glowing with a white magic circle, indicating he was the one who activated the gravity field. On his back was Mia, sleeping soundly and blissfully at what had just happened. Beside him was Chantal and Aengus who were also holding groceries, though now said items were strewn all over the floor as their hands covered their gaping mouths. "Have you buffoons forgotten the guild rules again? Something along the lines of, please spar in the courtyard?" he growled.

"Heh! Who cares about that!" Trevor grinned despite hanging upside down. "I do as I please…" Before he could finish his sentence, Kane swiped a finger and Trevor spun uncontrollably, eventually having his head collide with a wall.

"uggghhhhh…. peachy…" Trevor mumbled out before his lights went out, half his body still embedded in the wall.

"So how about owning up now. Who started this?" Kane scowled.

"She did!" Grace and Hikari pointed at each other, attempting to shift the blame. Unfortunately, that only seemed to anger Kane even more as he swiped his fingers once more, sending both mages plunging through walls, their lower halves sticking out as odd decorations.

"Now that we dealt with that, I expect the whole lot of you to start cleaning up. I don't care how you do it but this place had better be exactly the same when Master Glaive and the S-classes return in the afternoon." Kane growled lowly as he made his point.

"But this will take ages…" Vento whined, only to be silenced by a glare from Kane.

"Then would you rather face their wrath," Kane demanded, causing the mirror mage to shake his head fervently.

With that, Kane released the gravity field and lowered all of them back to the ground. Without question, all of them, including the more stubborn ones like Scar immediately took off for the nearby furniture shops. Dealing with Kane was one thing but incurring the wrath of the Master was another.

"Wow, does this happen very often," Chantal quipped as she watched the mages obey Kane's words without any complaints or hesitations. She didn't know if there were any fights at all due to the guild looking spick and span whenever she entered.

"Not really," Kane replied in a monotone voice. "while things like these happen occasionally, the S-classes are usually around to put a stop to it before it escalates. Too bad today no one was around."

"To cause this much of damage, everyone here must be crazily strong." Aengus remarked. To almost utterly devastate the guildhall with less than 10 people, some of their ranks really don't do justice to their strength.

"That's true," Kane agreed. "while the rank given initially is an indication of a mage's strength, a lot of them have undergone serious training to improve themselves. As of now, it is possible that they are all miles ahead of their original powers."

 **Same Guild Hall, Late Afternoon**

By some sort of miracle, the mages managed to buy almost all the furniture that was originally in the hall. While one team went about purchasing, another was busy scrubbing and cleaning, making sure no scorch or frost marks remained. This carried on for a good 2 hours or so with Kane monitoring them and when they were finally done, the guild hall looked brand new. Not a moment too soon as well as Glaive and the S-classes entered through the front gate. Although they were initially puzzled as to why everyone was panting and sweating furiously, they brushed it off as the by-products of serious training and made their way to the second-floor balcony.

Around the same time, the guild hall also started to fill up with more guild members. What was the originally about 10 members easily tripled in a matter of minutes, the benches and chairs almost completely filled up. It was as though someone had informed them to be present at a particular time, about some important announcement.

"Hey, do you have any idea what's happening?" Chantal asked Lila who was seated next to her. Seated along with them were Criss and Tsuki who were currently engaged in their own conversation, hence Chantal decided not to bother them.

"Beats me," Lila shrugged. She had not seen a gathering this big throughout her years in Scarlet Nova so it was a first for her too. "Maybe something important is going to happen?"

Before Chantal could probe further, there was the distinct sound of Glaive clearing his throat, an indication that he was about to begin. The once noisy guild hall fell into a deadly silence, awaiting what the Guild Master had to say.

"My dear mages," Glaive began as he looked down at his family. "It brings me great honour to be here addressing you today. First off, I would like to thank all of you for arriving on time. All of you have been specially chosen to attend this hearing and I'm glad to see punctuality. So, without further ado, let me congratulate all of you for being shortlisted to participate in this year's S-class Exams!"

There were roars of surprise and excitement as mages fist punched the air and cheered for joy. The S-class exams was like a sacred ground for all of them and they had just made the cut! What better news was there! However, there were a few who held puzzled looks on their faces. Wasn't S class exams meant for the A-class mages only? So why were there B and C-class mages being shortlisted?

"I know what you are thinking," Glaive said with a warm smile as he noticed those looks of confusion. "While originally the S-class exams are reserved only for the A-class, I decided to change the rules a bit this year and also reward the B and C-class mages who have contributed heavily to the guild and produced stellar mission results. After finalising the reports and receiving opinions from each S-class mage, we have selected this year's candidates. And now, I shall announce who will be participating in this year's exams."

That last sentence silenced the guild once more. There were those that began praying fervently, hoping that they would get selected. Then there were those who had confident grins on their faces, knowing that they would be the handful that are picked. All mages held their breath at this point and after what seemed like an eternity, Glaive made his announcement.

"Scar Midnight,"

"Kane Strix,"

"Criss Bol,"

"Caroline Kamora,"

"Wisteria Wick,"

"Vale Sitri,"

"Grace Olympia,"

"Tsukiko Takahashi,"

"Blitz Alabaster,"

"Hikari Eien,"

"Len Vega,"

"Congratulations to the whole lot of you. You are now officially S-class candidates!" Glaive pronounced with a gleeful smile on his face. Thunderous applause ensued as members of the guild proceeded to congratulate them one by one. While some held disappointed looks on their faces that they were not elected, that did not stop them from shaking their hands and wishing them the best of luck in the upcoming exam.

As for the candidates, they all had mixed reactions. Criss literally hugged Tsukiko with all his might who returned it equally, tears of joy brimming at her eyes. Wisty and Caroline cheered their hearts out, a tidal wave of emotions flooding through them. A small smile was etched across the faces of Grace, Vale and Hikari. While they did not show much on the outside, their hearts were brimming with joy. Kane and Scar said nothing, simply just fist bumping each other as a form of respect. Blitz and Len had other ways of expressing their joy, firing off an array of fireworks into the sky which decorated the guild hall in a shower of colourful flames and sparks.

"Be reminded that like all S-class exams, you have to choose a partner. He or she cannot be another candidate and has to a member that has already been shortlisted. Please inform either me or your respective S-class mage your partner by the end of today." Glaive spoke amidst the cheers and cries of celebration. "The S-class exams will be held a month later so please take this time to coordinate your techniques and strengths. We will meet at Hargeon Port a month from now so remember not to be late. Any late comers will be disqualified on the spot."

"And so, with the formalities out of the way, may the best mage win!" Glaive yelled enthusiastically, his cry echoed by the mages which sat below him. In everyone's opinion, this was probably going to be the most exciting S-class exams ever. Anyone could be a winner and regardless of who, history will be made here in Scarlet Nova.

A short while later, the various candidates had already began seeking out their partners for the upcoming examination. While some found it easy, others had a really hard time deciding, having not worked with anyone before. However, due to the exam regulations, they were forced to choose someone.

"Let's combine our forces, whatdya say," Trevor suggested, taking a seat net to Len. "Our combination attack worked perfectly well in that guild brawl so nothing will stand in our way." Len took a moment to consider Trevor's idea, carefully running through the scenario which occurred earlier on. While it was true that their attacks worked well together, the time delay was still a bit too long for his liking. Plus, they didn't exactly manage to hit everyone, so that was another factor to take in as well.

"Nah, why am I even thinking so much," Len thought to himself. This was not his style at all. He was more of a smash first, think later kind of guy. While he originally wanted Korol or Lance as a partner, they would have probably been too uptight about things anyway, especially since the last episode at the laboratory.

"Yeah sure, why not," Len smirked as he fist-bumped Trevor who was also grinning from ear to ear. While he was not an S-class candidate, he had an axe to grind with Kozmotis for humiliating him on his entry test. What better way to do that than freeze fry him, literally. With Len around, beating him was no longer a distant dream.

At another corner of the guild, Scar was still busy looking out for a particular mage. Despite being under constant siege from Grace, she noticed a particular magic being used and it caught her attention instantly. Noticing her target, she walked up to him, ready to make her offer.

Vento was in the midst of chowing down on a bowl of ramen at the bar when he suddenly saw a shadow cast over him. A quick glance over his shoulders almost caused him to gag, Scar's scowling face glaring dead at him.

"Errrrr yes, can I help you?" he managed to make out timidly as he sweated buckets. Scar was by far the scariest A-class mage he had ever seen and she had business with him? This was not a good sign at all

"Tell me something," Scar growled, Vento nodding timidly in response. "You shot out a light beam similar to Lance's, earlier didn't you? How did you do that?"

"Errrr…well…my magic lets me copy any spell that I have seen before, though the strength of it really varies. Depending on the mana consumption, I also have a cooldown time before I can use another one." Vento stammered as he tried to hold his gaze. Why was she so interested in his magic anyways?

Upon hearing that, Scar's expression softened slightly. Her suspicions were confirmed about the boy. While he may not look like it, his magic would definitely be a great source of support in the upcoming exam. Perfect for being her partner.

"We're registering now," Scar said as she dragged Vento by the back of his collar. Vento was still in a daze when his arse left the chair but a second later, his face contorted into one of fear when Scar's words sank into his brain.

"Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" he protested, waving his arms wildly in an attempt to escape. Unfortunately for him, Scar was not having any of that.

"Well looks like she found an interesting partner," Criss stated as he watched Scar leave with Vento in tow. He knew that the boy had just joined a year ago, but for Scar to take notice of him, he must be really special.

Around him sat the other members of their group. Although Ashar failed to qualify, he still had a small smile on his face, genuinely happy that the rest managed to. Wisty had smiles all over her face too, betraying her overwhelming feelings of excitement. Apart from them, there were also a few new additions to the group, having found their way there to become partners. Korol had his legs kicked up against the table, his head in the clouds as to why he was called here. Tsukiko was there with Neel as well, both girls chatting happily about looking forward to the S-class examinations.

"I call dibs on Ashar," Wisty winked as she threw her arms around him, causing him to blush slightly due to the physical contact. "We go way back so I know how his magic works best." Ashar said nothing, just nodding his head in agreement. Although he was generally fine with everyone in their group, he still felt the most comfortable around her. He guessed it was also for the best too. He did not want to drag anyone down because of his awkwardness.

"Fine by me," Tsuki grinned. "My partner here is going to be Neel and we're going to kick some serious butt!" She had her arms wrapped around Neel too who also gave a slightly awkward smile. She was sure to give her best to help Tsuki in any way she could but deep down, she really did not want to fight some people. She didn't specialise in magic for direct confrontation, so that would put her at a great disadvantage against particular mages she knew. Then there were the people she held dear to her heart. If she really had to go up against them, she knew she would definitely throw in the towel. There was no way she could bring herself to hurt them. All she could do now was pray for a good matchup and support Tsuki all the way. Only then could she hold her head high and say proudly that she had tried her best.

"I guess that leaves me and you then," Criss nodded to Korol who gave a thumb up in response. "You hold your fight well, I will give you my best in response." Korol stated. While they had never worked with each other before, Korol had heard of and seen most of Criss' missions on lacrima logs. Having done research beforehand, he was surprised that Criss was a well-adapted fighter despite being frail looking. At the very least, he did not need to carry him throughout the course of the exam.

As for Criss, unknown to the rest, he had a special reason for partnering with Korol. Having seen the reports from Aamor's desk, Korol's magic had caught his eye very quickly. If really was like what he imagined it to be, he could very well help him reclaim his lost power. That would definitely be a great boost to his confidence and chances of becoming an S-class mage.

"So, are we going to be training together?" Tsuki asked around. She had heard previously that the group would be discussing strategies and stuff but in the S-class exams they may also very well be fighting each other so it kind of seemed contradictory.

"I don't see why not," Ashar replied. "While it does gives us a head up on what kind of magic you guys might be meaning, it also means that we have no excuse to lose to each other if we really do have to fight one another eventually. Then, we can really go all out with no regrets."

"Well you guys go on ahead first," Criss intervened. "I need to visit my hometown for a while before I can join yall. Hope you guys don't mind."

"Not at all," Neel chirped. "Keep safe!" The rest of the group also gave understanding smiles and nods, approving of Criss' temporary absence. Criss gave a small bow as he took his leave, deciding to depart for his home immediately. It was a long way back and Criss needed to compensate for this.

"So where to," Korol questioned.

"Somewhere beyond the borders of Fiore." Criss answered simply, deciding to keep Korol in suspense till they would arrive.

In another corner of the guild hall, Yuuna was busy bandaging Grace's arms and shoulders. It too her a while to remove her from the wall and when she did, Grace was in a foul mood. Now, Yuuna treaded lightly, hopefully not pissing her off even more.

"You should take more care of yourself you know," Yuuna chided slightly as she applied the ointment. "It's not nice to start a fight with our guildmates too."

"She had terrible music sense," Grace grumbled. "I did nothing wrong in correcting her." Yuuna pouted slightly upon hearing that, purposely adding a bit more force on her arms which caused Grace to wince.

"Hey, gently pls." Grace muttered, despite the glare she gave Yuuna who did not really seem to mind. "Then please think with your head next time," Yuuna reminded amidst wrapping. "Not everything needs to be resolved with brute force."

"Well, I will stand for what I think is right," Grace replied. "I will definitely prove to that girl, Scar and that annoying Kane that I'm the strongest amongst us."

"Yes you will, yes you will." Yuuna repeated gently, like a mother soothing a spoilt child. Honestly though, she sometimes really wondered who was the older one between the two of them.

Similar sentiments were shared when Lila and Caroline heard Hikari's story, both bursting out into laughter when they heard everything from top to end.

"What's so funny," Hikari snarled.

"Well, it just seems like the kind of childish reason you would start a fight for," Lila chuckled. "You're actually acting your age for once."

"Hey!" Hikari snapped annoyed but she immediately composed herself, reminding herself why she was even speaking with those two. "In any case, do you want to be my partner Lila?" Regrettably, Hikari had not worked with a lot of people save the Combat Division. So, when she saw all the prominent members already in groups, she started panicking internally. Face with no other options she decided to turn to Lila and Caroline.

"With your attitude, I'll pass." Lila joked. "I'm sorry but I've already agreed to partner Caroline. You see we made the pact a while back that we would support each other if either of us gets chosen to be S-class." For a brief moment, Lila swore she could see a tinge of sadness in Hikari's eyes but as soon as it came, it quickly vanished.

"Tch," Hikari clicked her tongue in annoyance as she watched the duo leave to train. She subconsciously began to chew on her thumb, her mind in a big loss at what to do now. She was really running out of options here. Did she really have to speak to Master Glaive about this and ask for an exception? That would leave her at a disadvantage though, seeing as it may be a 1 versus 2 battle. What should she do…

"Hikari," a voice called out, snapping her out from her thoughts. A quick glance upwards revealed Asuka standing before her, his eyes showing slight concern. "What do you want," Hikari snapped. "I'm busy here."

"Nothing much," Asuka answered. "Was just wondering if you needed any help."

"No I do not," Hikari growled. "Now leave me alone." With that she stood up from her seat and turned to leave. Looks like she would have to ask for an exception after all. That was until she heard Asuka's next words.

"I knew Yami."

That caused Hikari to stop dead in her tracks, her body trembling slightly as she turned around. "What did you say?" she asked, her voice lacking the usual bluntness and venom. Instead, it was choked with emotions, feelings that she had long locked up beginning to show themselves.

"I said I know Yami," Asuka repeated. "He told me before, that if you were in trouble, I was to lend you a hand. So, let me be your partner for this examination."

Thousands of questions flooded Hikari's mind, causing it to be even more confused than before. Asuka knew her brother? How? Why? When? What did he have to say? Did he leave any last words? "No no no," Hikari told herself mentally, "That's not the important thing right now." She could get answers out of Asuka later but more importantly now, she had found a partner.

"What magic do you use?" she stuttered out, desperately trying to rein in her emotions and maintain a cool facade. "Dark Arts," Asuka channelled his magic to his right palm, forming a black sphere before Hikari's eyes.

"He even uses the same magic as him," Hikari muttered silently. This was too good to be true. If he really was as good as Yami, they would be unstoppable.

"Meet in the forest tomorrow morning," Hikari said, turning her back and heading for the door once more. She did not even bother seeing the nod that Asuka gave. All she wanted to do right now was head home and cry.

At long last she had finally found someone who knew what happened to her brother.

"So I guess we're in this together huh," Blitz said as he walked out of the guild master's office with Lance.

"Well, we're both from the Research Department so it would be better to work with someone you know, right?" Lance quipped, a smile on his face. Blitz nodded in agreement. It was time they showed the rest of the guild that the Research Department were not just bookworms or nerds. If they wished to, they could be as powerful as any one.

"Should we get started on the barrier project?" Blitz suggested. The final preparations were already underway and soon a new prototype would be ready for use. What better way to test it than to use it for the S-class exams?

"Yup, let's do that." Lance seconded his opinion. If successful, it could prove to be a lifesaver in critical situations. Just as they reached the elevator, the doors opened and revealed Kane with Chantal. Both candidates gave each other a small smile as they passed, wishing the other party all the best.

"Erm, are you sure Kane?" Chantal asked softly as she followed him towards the guild master's office. "I mean there are other mages out there who are better than me, so isn't it better to have them as a partner instead?"

Kane sopped in his tracks and turned to face Chantal, causing her to gulp slowly when she saw his imposing frame. 'We've been through this Chantal," he said gently, his tone causing her to jump in surprise. "My magic requires an energy source and cannot be used in day time. Assuming we fight during the day, I would be powerless so I need your help. Please lend me your power."

That last sentence made Chantal blush slightly, though Kane caught none of that. Speechless, she just nodded awkwardly. Sensing that he had made his point, Kane continued walking.

"Well, I hope nothing goes wrong," Chantal told herself. If anything, she believed Kane could easily crush anything hurled at him as evident of the earlier guild skirmish. For him to actually ask for help, he must really need it. Not that she wasn't happy he asked for her help, but more worried whether she could meet his expectations.

"Let's just Moonflower can help him out then," she shrugged her shoulders.

"You've got to be kidding me," Vale uttered under his breath as he gazed at the short iguana-like freak in front of him. He had to partner with him?!

"Well I'm sorry for disappointing you," Iggie scowled, hands on his hips. "You aren't my cup of tea either." Initially he wanted to pair up with Kane but when he saw that he already teamed up with some random girl, he dropped the idea.

"Why couldn't you be shortlisted instead?" Kane asked himself, though they all knew the question was directed at Silver who was standing in between them.

"I just joined about a month back and am still adapting to this place so I kinda told Master Glaive to exempt me from special activities till I'm ready." Silver gave an awkward smile as he fiddled his thumbs.

Vale just sighed internally. If Trevor was shortlisted, he was hoping Silver would too but the boy had already made prior arrangements. Now he was stuck with the prankster of the guild and if that wasn't bad enough, he had fiery temper to match it.

"Whatcha staring at," Iggie snarled, seeing as how Vale had just been looking at him dead centre for the past minute or so. "Haven't seen a freak before?"

"Nope, at least not one as ugly as you."

"HEY!" Iggie shouted while Silver laughed at the response. Though initially planning to insult him further, Vale dropped the idea lest he wanted Iggie to screw with him during their training or at the examination itself.

"Just don't get in my way," Vale stated flatly, hoping that would suffice as an apology.

"Unfortunately, that's what I do best," Iggie replied with a smirk, causing Vale to groan internally.

This was going to be a long, frustrating month…

 **A/N:** _And there you guys have it, the S-class candidates and their partners. Please don't hate me if your character isn't chosen. A lot of factors had to be taken into consideration, in particular the year they joined so I can't satisfy everyone's wishes. Also, apologies for the late chapter update. I was busy changing my laptop last weekend so I did not have time to do up the chapter till this week._

 _Just a short notice, Checkmate 4 submissions are closed and I can still take one more Dark Guild Grunt. With this I conclude the end of the OC introductions and as the curtain falls, we welcome the second act which is the S-class exams. Do look forward to it XD_

 _Death Obelisk out_

 **Credits**

 **Cloudsomaniac: Yuuna Suzuki**

 **AnEternalMelodyToAFlamingSoul: Grace Olympia**

 **Shadowselfcyber: Silver Soul**


	8. Let the Training Begin!

**January 10** **th** **, Guild Library**

"So, what exactly are we looking for?" Blitz asked, staring at Lance who was currently hurling books out from shelves like a deranged madman. That morning, Lance had grabbed Blitz wordlessly from his house and dragged his sleepy ass to the guild library.

"I suddenly had a brainwave last night," Lance explained, continuing to throw books out from the shelves, "the main reason why the barrier potion kept failing was because it required a physical container instead of being consumed. When it enters the bloodstream, it mixes up with the user's mana flow which causes it to overload more easily."

"If that was the case, why not just build a portable barrier or something? Why come searching in the library?" Blitz replied, still not seeing the point of going there in the first place.

"It's not so easy Blitz." Lance turned around and addressed his fellow mage. "the container has to not only be able to condense the damage but also strong enough to project the barrier and maintain it. To do so, we need the knowledge from the Ancient Lore which is hidden somewhere in this library."

"Ancient Lore eh," Blitz repeated, the words rolling off his tongue. The name itself indicated how old the book was and Blitz was rather sceptical that they could find it this way. Hurling books out of shelves was probably not going to make it any easier. If anything, it just creates a big mess.

"Why not use your A-class pass instead?" Blitz suggested. "I'm pretty sure that you have clearance for the book and it most definitely won't give the poor soul who has to clean up after you a terrible headache."

"You're right," Lance suddenly grinned, snapping his fingers in glee. "Why didn't I think of it." With that he leapt off the bookshelf and beckoned for a lacrima drone to come forth, pressing his thumbprint into it for recognition purposes. Blitz just sighed slightly, a small smile on his face. Lance was good natured but he really needed to stop and think a little once in a while. It probably could have saved them a lot more time.

"Identity Confirmed," the lacrima drone beeped. "How may I help you?"

"I'm looking for the Ancient Lore," Lance replied. "Could you please bring it to me?"

"Affirmative, please hang on." The drone then took off into the distance in search of the book. However, when it returned, Lance and Blitz were in for a rude shock.

"Whoa whoa whoa," Blitz's jaw dropped. "Nobody said anything about this." Lance just looked on in awe, his eyes bulging slightly as he took in the scene before him.

The book was freaking humongous, requiring a grand total of 10 drones just to lift it. Magical runes and chains decorated its red surface, holding the thick wad of pages in place. That thing itself was probably taller than the two of them put together.

With a loud boom, the drones released the book and dropped it right in front of the duo. "Please be reminded that this book cannot leave the library premises," the drones chirped in unison before flying off, busy re-arranging all the books that Lance had thrown out previously.

"Well, this is definitely not going anywhere," Blitz remarked. The book wouldn't even fit through the guild hall doors, let alone the lift's. This was going to take a long while.

"We might as well get started," Lance stated as he unbound one of the chains. "We still need to make some time to train and create the thing as well." Noting his point, Blitz followed suit, unbinding the other chains layering the book. With a heave, both man lifted the red cover and stared hard at the table of contents, searching for what they were looking for.

"This thing is arranged by years," Blitz noted as he read the fine print. "Do you have any idea where to start?"

"If I'm not wrong, about 400 years ago, would be a good place to start. That's where all the foundations for current inventions came about." Lance replied, beginning to turn the pages slowly. The book truly lived up to its name, having history dating back to about a thousand years ago. That fact was also registered on its pages, some of which were fraying and torn so the duo had to be extremely careful not to destroy anything.

"Hey hold on a second," Blitz called out, stopping Lance halfway through. They were currently at the history of 200 years ago, and a particular title had just caught Blitz's attention. Lance was quite puzzled though. They were currently rushing for time so they should really be focusing on the more important things instead of making small pit stops.

"What's up," Lance enquired as he walked over. The minute he did, he immediately understood Blitz' interest. There before them, the words Dragscale Weapons glistened in gold boldings.

"You do know we cannot create something like that right," Lance said. The technology for forging Dragscale weapons was long lost in the crevice of time, never discovered till date. Even if they did possess the technology, there were no Dragons left to use as the power source for the weapons.

"Aren't you curious though," Blitz replied. "why they even exist? The Dragscale weapons are said to be the most powerful tools mankind has ever forged. The immense difficulty and intricacy required is out of this world, such that only 7 of them were ever created. And of the 7, 6 are currently present in Scarlet Nova, 3 of which belong to S-class mages. This book might give us details on how they work and we can in turn come up with strategies to counter them. They must have a weakness somewhere."

"You do have a point," Lance remarked, nodding his head. As the saying goes, knowing was half the battle won. He had never seen any of the magic the weapons utilised before, save for Kozmotis' and Trevor's due to that entrance exam. While he knew Vitra used a scythe and Raven used a lance, the two had never fought with them before, relying on their original magic powers.

Having gotten his consent, Blitz began to read aloud. "The Dragscale weapons, mankind's greatest creation. Forged from a dragon's blood and bones, they wielded the strength and true essence of that dragon's powers. Fire, lightning, light, darkness, ice and wind. These were the elements which held the world in balance and so, mankind forged the first six weapons based on this. The last element, Void, was created last as a means of unifying the rest of the elements. They were mostly used in the Cataclysm War 200 years ago during the Dark Ages. Wielders of the weapons were required to fight a great evil which threatened the world and only when all seven weapons were present could they truly defeat the menace. However, one user did not make it, disappearing mysteriously days before the assault. As a result, humanity suffered great losses to the evil forces, even going as far as losing two of the weapons to them. As a result, humanity turned to an alternative method to defeat them. Calling upon the best of their mages, they placed a curse on the evil, forcefully sealing them away into human hosts to weaken their powers. These hosts were immediately executed thereafter in an attempt to permanently destroy the evil but some of them fled, having known their fate. Having fulfilled their purpose, the 7 weapons fell into desolation. Some of them were buried while others kept as family heirlooms. It is said that should the 7 weapons have to gather again, it meant that the evil was reawakening. Should such a thing occur, mankind would be plunged into eternal darkness."

"Well, that really helped." Lance remarked sarcastically. While it did tell him what elements the weapons utilised, it did not state explicitly what weapon used what. That still left a lot of possibilities to be eliminated if they wanted to come up with countermeasures.

Blitz' head was somewhere else though. Something about that ancient text worried him. There were already 6 users present in the guild. Doesn't that mean that the 7 weapons were gathering once more. If that was true, did that mean the world was going to fall into darkness once more? No that can't be true. The evil was sealed away in human hosts, right? So, when they died, the evil should have disappeared with them.

"What's on your mind man?" Lance asked, seeing as how Blitz' brows were heavily furrowed. He seemed extremely concerned about something. Upon hearing his voice, Blitz snapped out of it, shaking his head slightly which indicated it was nothing.

"Let's just go to what we are looking for," Blitz replied, attempting to shift his discomfort somewhere else. This wasn't the time to be worrying about weird prophecies. If he had time, he should be focusing on the future, aka his S-class exams.

As they flipped the pages further, Blitz briefly caught a glimpse of the next article which was titled Dragscale Overload. However, that was the last thing on his mind currently and he stowed it away or subsequent reference. Little did he know, that the most crucial information he needed was hidden away in those few lines.

 **North of Fiore, Brigham Fortress**

"Scar…what are we…doing here…" Vento whimpered softly into the lacrima earpiece he was wearing. The day before, Scar had grabbed him without a word, pulling him on board a train that was headed North of Fiore. He hardly had anytime to pack, bringing along only his trusty staff. He was so tired after the day's events that he immediately fell asleep on board the train, not giving a hoot to the world. However, when he awoke Scar was nowhere to be seen. He was alone in front of a grey fortress, having only his staff and a lacrima earpiece for company.

"Training," Scar replied simply through the earpiece, watching the boy through a pair of binoculars. She was currently situated in the forest a mile away from the forest, sitting in a tree branch and having breakfast. She watched as the boy turned about helplessly, at a loss about what to do.

"How is this training," Vento squealed. "I'm right in front of Brigham Fortress, home to the dark guild Blade Force. It's like I'm on a mission right now."

"You are," Scar replied, taking another bite out of her bagel. "You are currently doing an A-class mission which I took up yesterday. The request was to eliminate Blade Force and return the fortress to the magic council."

"ALONE!" Vento almost screamed into the earpiece but immediately lowered his voice in fear that the fortress' occupants would hear him. "Please help me out!"

Scar sighed, disappointed that the boy still did not understand her intentions. "Let me ask you then," she growled, causing Vento to straighten up as his hairs stood on their ends. "When did you join the guild as a mage?"

"Errr…I…lived in Scarlet Nova…for about 10 years, I guess…" Vento stammered, trying his best to compose himself. "But Master Glaive only approved my status as a mage last year."

"And why was that?" Scar probed further.

"Because I could not properly master my magic," Vento replied softly, ashamed of the fact.

"How many missions did you complete?" Scar continued to interrogate.

"12…all C-class," Vento said even softer.

"There is your answer," Scar concluded, hoping she had made her point very clear. "You lack battle experience, clear and simple. You need to learn to hold your own fight and because we are short on time, you will do it the hard way."

"But an A-class mission?!" Vento panicked. That was too big a jump for him.

"Then what! The spineless C-class missions you have been taking, with the help of others!?" Scar snapped, throwing in the last part as an added insult. He needed to stop being such a coward and actually start manning up. In the event of a tag battle, she would be too busy fighting her own battles to protect him. The way he was now, he would be knocked out easily.

Vento hung his head in shame, Scar's words ringing within his head. As much as he would deny it, it was true. All of his missions were aided by others and most of the time he did nothing, even when there were fights involved. He needed to stop relying on others, starting from here out. He had to prove to the rest of the guild that he was not a bloodsucker that just leeched off the hard work of others.

"Alright, alright…" Vento replied slowly as he steeled his determination. "So, what should I do?" He took a quick glance at the front of the fortress. The entire place was sealed off completely, the front door bolted shut and windows patched with wooden planks. There was no way into it and his magic did not give him the option of opening it by brute force either.

"I got you covered," Scar replied, snapping her fingers. From her position, she materialled a tornado that was shaped like a drill and hurled it straight at the main gate. Vento squealed slightly, watching as the tornado barely missed his head, tearing through the front gate like it was rotten word. There was a loud explosion as the gate shattered, hurling some of the guild members inward. They hit the inner walls of the fortress, groans slipping their lips as they fell unconscious. The rest of them stared in shock at what just happened before turning their gaze back to the doorway. In the middle of it stood a terrified Vento, both arms clutching his staff as he trembled like a twig.

"GET HIM!" the members of Blade Force roared in unison, grabbing up arms as they rushed towards Vento. Vento was now terrified, screaming his lungs out as he saw tens of men rushing him, baying for his blood.

"Listen to what I have to say carefully," Scar commanded as she switched to infrared vision, having a clear view of the battleground. Vento said nothing, his teeth chattering as he nodded in fear. His life was literally in Scar's hands right now.

"Take a step back," Vento heard just as two men brought their swords down before him. He instantly obeyed, the blades barely missing his skin and embedded in themselves in the ground. Vento then took the opportunity to swipe his staff at their heads, causing them to wince in pain as they crumpled to the ground.

"Jump and kick," came Scar's voice once more as another three members divebombed, brandishing lacrima blades. Vento complied and leapt out of harm's way, landing a solid kick in the lead man's face. The man yelled in pain and collapsed onto the rest of his companions, knocking them backwards.

"Staff above, 45 degrees now!" Vento thrust his staff in that general direction, catching another guild member in the gut. Twirling it, Vento easily smashed his head into the earth, putting him out of the fight.

This continued for another 30 minutes or so, Scar issuing commands and Vento obeying. Slowly but steadily, Vento was beating each member of Blade Force into unconsciousness. Although his movements were initially sluggish, he was gradually improving. His reaction speed was getting faster and faster and he started to make improvements to Scar's commands as well. Without him noticing, Scar eventually stopped giving commands and Vento was already fighting on his own.

"That's the way," Scar thought to herself. Although risky, this was the fastest way to get him on his feet and boy did it pay off. Vento could now fight decently and while he still needed polishing, at least he was no longer just a moving target. "Probably another few missions would beat him into shape," Scar planned out. There should still be enough time to work on coordination and strategies, assuming everything goes as smoothly.

Vento on the other hand was ecstatic. He was feeling power like nothing he had felt before. With each punch or kick, he could feel his body warming up, his mind telling him what to do next. So this was combat. So this was fighting. It may be his first, but it felt so natural it was scaring him. Was this really him? "I can do this, I can do this, I CAN DO THIS!" Vento cheered as he clobbered the last of Blade Force into the ground. His fists were bloody and he was panting heavily but the euphoria rising up within him was beyond anyone's expectations. So this was what it means to be a mage.

"Bring it on!" Vento yelled to the heavens happily. He felt invincible right now, having defeated a Dark Guild mostly on his own. He was pretty sure he could do anything right now, maybe even beat the Guild Master. Unfortunately, his thoughts turned into a reality as a dark shadow descended from above him. Vento had barely enough time to look up as a figure crashed landed right in front of him. The force was so great that the earth shattered on impact and Vento was blown backwards. Using his hands to stop himself, Vento managed to regain his footing and as he did so, took a good look at his next opponent.

To say that the man was obese was an understatement. He looked more like a living blob of fats, the only thing marking him as human were the blue overalls that barely fit. He had a golden mohawk and black eyes, his teeth a dirty yellow after months of not brushing. In each of his hands was a sledge hammer, equally as oversized as he was. He was the Master of Blade Force, Robert Hog, the man guilds come to know as the Liar Hog.

"A pipsqueak crushed my guild?" Hog practically wheezed, each word barely audible. "What a load of bullcrap."

"Well you better watch it, cause this pipsqueak is gonna kick your ass too," Vento grinned, a confident smirk on his face. He did beat his entire guild bare-handed, so their Master shouldn't be so tough, right?

"You idiot!" Scar snarled. "You're not ready for him yet!"

"I'm gonna smack your right!" Hog declared openly as he wobbled forward. Instinctively, Vento raised his arms to guard his right. However, the blow never came, instead a heavy pressure was felt on the left side of his head instead. Vento could barely register anything as the sledgehammer swatted him across the ground, his body tumbling end over end. That initial blow also knocked out the lacrima earpiece he wore, cutting off communications with him and Scar.

"Owwwww…" Vento moaned as he desperately tried to withhold himself from crying. That blow was just like getting run over by a truck and having it reverse to run over him again. As he tried to scramble to his feet, he barely heard Hog saying again, "Hammer Down!". Once more, Vento followed blindly, raising his arms above his head but the blow came from the right, the sledgehammer swatting him yet again across the fortress courtyard. This time though, Vento coughed up blood, having felt something crack within him.

Disoriented, Vento tried to stand up once more but his feet would not let him. His world was spinning so badly right now that he was probably going to hurl. If only he could maintain his balance, he might still have a chance of beating this guy. With much difficulty, he managed to place all four limbs on the ground and finally the world stopped spinning around him. However, it only lasted a few seconds as Hog slammed his chin with the sledgehammers, flipping Vento into the air before crushing him back down with another well-placed blow to the back. Vento coughed up copious amounts of blood as he laid arms splayed out on the ground, no longer able to move. The blow on the chin had sealed the deal, shaking up his brains till the point where he could no longer think. He just stared openly at the sky, his eyes blood shot and empty even as Hog placed a foot on his chest, rubbing it into his wounds.

"A gullible kid like this took down my guild? Pathetic." Hog growled as he stared at Vento's prone form. It was way too easy, the way the kid listened to what he said. There was no way someone like that could beat an entire guild on his own. "Well just in case," Hog grunted as he hefted up both sledgehammers "I should clean up the loose ends." With that he brought down both weapons, ready to end Vento's life.

Before the blows landed, a dark gust of wind surged forth and disintegrated both hammers. The Hog squealed in surprise as he stared at the wooden handles which were left, not noticing Scar landing right next to him. All he caught was a silhouette before his enormous body was blown into the fortress wall, courtesy of a well-placed drill kick by Scar.

"I hope you have learnt your lesson, you cocky fool," Scar chided as she stared at Vento's unmoving body. The boy was alive at the least but he wasn't going anywhere in this state. Serves him right, thinking he could tank a Guild Master with just 30 minutes of combat experience. Blind confidence got no one anywhere and he had just learnt that the hard way.

"THE HELL ARE YOU!" the Hog squealed angrily as he tried to free himself from the fortress walls. "I'M GONNA CRUSH YOU! I'M GONNA GUT YOU! I'M GONNA…"

"Shut up, you're annoying me." Scar snarled softly. She raised a hand and black winds began to whip and crackle around it, eventually taking the form of a black drill. "Black Storm," she commanded and the wind drill shot off, slamming into Hog's stomach as it dug him deeper into the fortress. The Hog bellowed in pain but even that was short-lived as the fortress walls gave way, collapsing half the structure on him and silenced his squeals of agony.

 **Much later**

Vento's eyelids fluttered slightly to the feeling of raindrops splashing across his face. Painfully, he opened them, watching as the rain poured all over him. He tried to stand up but realised he could not. A quick glance revealed his entire body in bandages and splints, immobilizing him to prevent his injuries from aggravating. Tilting his head slightly, he saw Scar roasting some fish by a fireplace. However, unlike him, she was dry and warm. For some strange reason, the raindrops parted over where she was seated and the fireplace, enabling her to cook her food.

"You're finally awake," Scar stated, not even taking a glance at Vento. "I believe you have learnt your lesson."

"I could have taken him, if not for his stupid directions." Vento grumbled, earning himself a rock thrown by Scar.

"That just shows you have ways to go before you are ready. Not all opponents are going to be so nice as to not confuse you. If you can't even beat someone of his calibre, don't go shooting your mouth off just yet." Scar growled. Overconfident little shits like him was why she really hated interacting with others.

"Sorry…" Vento drawled. "Do you think you could let me in. It would be nice to get out of the rain and have a nice dinner." He tried diverting the conversation elsewhere but Scar shook her head slightly, causing the boy to whine and demand why.

"Three reasons." Scar said plainly. "One, your injuries are severe so I can't risk moving your body lest I cause you to be permanently paralyzed. Two, I only caught enough food for myself and given your appetite, you would eat everything without leaving some for me. Three, I hate being around people, so you will stay the hell away from me."

Vento wanted to rebut her but all of her points were nothing but the truth so instead, he just shut up and closed his eyes, hoping to get some sleep amidst the rain.

This was going to be a long, cold and lonely night.

 **Galgor island, South of Fiore**

"Are we there yet?" Ashar asked, slightly concerned. The group had been walking for a good 2 hours since they left the boat. He didn't really mind though considering that the path was littered with trees and flowers. They really made him feel at ease but that did not change the fact that the sky was dark and it was dangerous to be travelling through the woods at night.

"Let's have a little faith in them, shall we?" Wisty gave a smile, following closely behind Ashar. Unlike Ashar, she stopped every few seconds to take a closer look at the fauna around them. It wasn't every day that they got to travel to Galgor, a place known for her unique animals and plants, most of which cannot be found in the forests of Fiore or Alvarez.

"I do apologise for the long trek though," Tsuki replied. "the cabin was built in a place that did not obstruct the path of the trees so it's located further inland." The four of them were currently on the way to one of the Combat Division's special locations that was located off the island of Fiore. Having taken the whole day to travel via boat, Tsuki could understand why Ashar and Wisty were tired. She felt the same way when she first came here. Sora and Shiro had already hit the sack, snuggling up in her backpack.

Neel on the other hand, seemed to be just as energetic, swinging through the branches like an agile monkey. Being on Galgor had put her in high spirits, especially with all the fond memories that she had at the place. Amongst all of them, she was probably the most excited one. "We're here!" Neel exclaimed happily as she recognised a wooden sign from afar, something that she had made a long time ago. It was a rather shoddy drawing of Vitra's face, the words "Welcome!" written next to it.

Before them was probably considered one of the most scenic locations they had ever seen. In the centre of a clearing stood a traditional log cabin, made of nothing but wood and glass. It had a small porch, equipped with a makeshift campfire setup and cushioned sofas. Beside the cabin was a small waterfall with a medium sized pond that was lined with stones at the edge. Apart from the large amount of space, there was also a killer view. The cabin was situated near a cliff which oversaw the forest below it, a perfect place to watch the sunrise in the morning.

"This is beautiful," Wisty smiled, her hands to her mouth. The Combat Division were known to be destructive so it exceeded her expectations for them to actually have the skill and precision to build something this amazing.

"I know right! You have the same expression as me when I first came!" Tsuki smiled. No matter how many times she had been here, this place still amazed her to no end.

While Ashar said nothing, the smile on his face indicated his joy as well. He felt so at home in this place, surrounded by nature and all. It really was a good idea to take the girls' suggestion. "How does this work though?" he asked, curious about the waterfall. As far as he could tell, there was no water source further up.

"Vitra made that," Neel responded with a grin, bouncing forward to reveal a few leaves at the top of the waterfall. Beneath it was a small oval hole which the water poured out from. The inside of the hole was purplish and shimmery, no doubt a product of magic. Ashar nodded in understanding, realising that the water source was probably from somewhere else.

"Now where did I keep it," Neel asked aloud as she shook her sleeves rapidly. From within them, candy, plush toys, hand written notes and even tissues fell out, causing the rest of her team to sweat drop. Finally, there was a cling as a golden key fell out which Neel used to unlock the cabin doors, leading them into a cosy living room.

While the room was only lit by sunlight, there were several light lacrima installed for night time. There was a bright red and white sectional sofa in the middle, forming a three-walled square around a fireplace that had a rectangular coffee table in front of it. There were bookshelves flanking the entrance, packed with books. On the west wall next to it, there was a staircase with a mosaic carpet laid out on it. The east wall had a pair of recliners and a little end-table with a lamp, as well as a doorway which led to the kitchen. Most of the furniture were either logs or painted white and red.

"The rooms are upstairs," Tsuki said. "Luckily for us, there are four bedrooms so I guess it's just nice for us."

"No one uses mine," Neel pouted as she sprinted up the stairs. Shortly after, the sound of a door being closed could be heard.

"What's up with her?" Wisty asked.

"Don't mind Neel," Tsuki replied. "She stays here most of the time during her break so she made one of the rooms hers."

"I thought she stays in the dorms?" Ashar asked, having seen her a few times there.

"Yeah but occasionally she comes here to train with Vitra so I guess it's quite normal for her to take up residence here as well." Tsuki elaborated.

Seeing as how it was late already, the mages agreed that they should just take the night off and train tomorrow instead. Within ten minutes, all of them had gathered at the makeshift campfire, cooking a pot of stew that was filled with beef and wild veggies that they had bought on their way here. Sora and Shiro had also awakened to the smell of the stew and were busy roasting marshmallows on sticks.

"So what's it like in the Research Department?" Neel asked as she began serving the stew, passing the bowls around.

"Well, I guess you could say most of us are lone wolves," Ashar said, thanking her for the bowl of stew as well. "Most people in the Research Department don't really interact much with one another as our work is mostly non-related. We usually just isolate ourselves from the rest of the world as we conduct our experiments."

"Not us though," Wisty grinned, placing an arm around Ashar who smiled slightly. "We always work together, regardless of what projects we take on. You could say that we are like two peas in a pod."

"Well, it's probably due to a combination of personalities and magic matching." Ashar added. "Wisty is really nice. She's a really good lab partner and always looks out for me even though I'm the more senior one."

"Ooooooo…She likes you…." Shiro purred in between bites of his marshmallow.

"Nononononononononon…" Wisty denied in a fluster, her cheeks burning red in embarrassment. Even though she said so, somewhere in her heart something was yelling and saying it was true. That only caused her face to burn up even more, adding more fuel to her panicked state.

"Like? What is like?" Ashar asked, cocking his head to one side. He still had some problems understanding human emotions and that term seemed particularly foreign to him.

"Well, liking someone means…" Tsuki was about to explain when Wisty grabbed her by the mouth, forcing her to keep quiet while laughing awkwardly. "Now, now," she started in between laughs "how about you guys? The Combat Division always seems very tense and unfriendly."

"On the contrary, we are quite united." Neel replied, scooping up some more stew. "The Combat Division often trains together and we always offer to help the weaker members of the guild brush up their fighting skills."

"That doesn't deny the fact that you guys are careless and reckless though," Ashar quipped, remembering how the 20th floor lab was sealed off due to a training accident.

"My bad, my bad…" Tsuki admitted. "A few of our members don't really know how to hold back their strength, in particularly the muscle brained S-class of ours. So occasionally we do end up racking up huge debts due to collateral damage on missions."

"Occasionally…" Wisty sweat-dropped, remembering the stacks of public complaints that followed in after the Combat division completed missions back when she was still a bar-maid. "Well in the event that we do have to fight an S-class mage, do you guys have a particular opponent that you guys want to fight or avoid?"

"Hmmm…" Tsuki brought an arm to her head as she thought deeply. "I would prefer to fight Vitra or Zion I guess."

"Why though," Ashar asked confused. Weren't the Combat Division S-classes the strongest S-classes by default since they were the ones who taught and lead people into combat.

"Call it a personal preference I guess," Tsuki smirked. "I have a score to settle with Zion since we are both fellow slayers. I'm gonna prove to him once and for all that Dragonslayers are not weaker than Godslayers. As for Vitra, he's way too nice. He'll probably go easy on us and make it easy to beat him."

"I would avoid Aamor probably," Wisty said. "She's probably the most powerful S-class currently in the guild. I would prefer to not go against her just yet."

"That's not really true though." Ashar countered. "Some say that Fate is catching up and may already be able to beat her one on one. So, my choice will have to be Fate but if I really had to choose amongst all the S-classes so far, nothing comes close to that man."

"That man?" Tsuki asked, not sure whom Ashar was talking about.

"You guys probably don't know him because he was banished from the guild about 5 years ago," Ashar replied, his brows furrowing. "in terms of raw strength and magic, not even Aamor came close to matching him. Only Father was strong enough to fight and defeat him, but yet not kill him. Ever since that day, Father has placed an unspoken gag order on the man's name so no one in the guild is allowed to speak of him."

"So where is he now?" Neel asked, trembling slightly. For a man so powerful to exist, it seemed pretty dangerous to let him roam free in the wild.

"Last I saw him, he was placed into a special containment unit by the Magic Council." Ashar added, finishing the last of his stew. "he should be safely locked up in a prison now so we don't have to worry about him running amok and causing harm."

"What about you Neel?" Wisty asked, seeing as how she had been keeping quiet for a while.

"Erm, Vitra would probably be my choice to avoid," she said in a small voice.

"Why?" Tsuki questioned. "Doesn't Vitra go easy on you?"

"He does," Neel admitted "That's why it pains me to hurt him. I feel very bad going all out on someone who is being nice." Deep down though, she knew very well that that wasn't the real reason why she refused to fight him. Her heart always hurted very badly when she thought of raising her fists against him. She just could not bring herself to even hit him.

"Vitra wasn't always like that you know," Ashar stated dryly. "I've seen the worse from him before. He used to kill…"

"VITRA IS NOT LIKE THAT ANYMORE!" Neel suddenly burst out, standing up from her seat and cutting into what Ashar was saying. That caused quite a jump from the rest of group, all of them taken aback by her response. Neel appeared rather cheerful so such emotions of anger was hardly seen before.

All except Sora who instantly caught on to what happened. "Ooooooo…she likes him…"he purred, rolling his tongue like his sister.

"tha…tha…that's…no…not…"Neel blushed deep red as she tried to defend herself, only for the words to come out broken and stammering.

Now it was Wisty's turn to smile and Tsuki giggled softly, having known the reason why she was so defensive over the S-class mage. Ashar still remained clueless, question marks floating over his head about what Sora said.

'Don't worry, we won't say a thing," Tsuki grinned, continuing to tease Neel. By then, the girl had already given up, burying her beet red face in between her sleeves. Oh, how she wanted to find a hole to crawl into now.

Seems like this was going to be a way more enjoyable trip than anticipated.

 **A/N:** _Let the training begin! The next few chapters will be covering the details of the members training process in the lead up to the S-class exams. I do apologise for the slow update because I'm busy handling baggage reports at the airport. Yeah, if you're wondering I started work at the airport. Also another heads up, there won't be an update for the next two weeks or so because I will be travelling back home to spend time with my family. Don't worry, this story will not go on hiatus any time soon so just patiently wait for my return XD_

 _Death Obelisk out_


End file.
